Nigerian National Remanded in Ghana Over Alleged Accra Bank Robbery Plot
A Nigerian national, Maazi Okechuku Augustine, has been remanded by the Accra Circuit Court in Ghana over his alleged involvement in a foiled bank robbery operation in the Labone area of Accra.
Augustine is expected to reappear before the court on Wednesday.
He was arrested on Thursday, August 13, 2026, after the Ghana Police Service said it foiled an alleged plot to rob three banks in the Labone area — GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank.
According to the police, officers received intelligence at about 10:45 a.m. that a gang was preparing to attack the banks and were subsequently deployed to the area.
The police said officers spotted suspected members of the gang in vehicles parked near the banks. One of the vehicles allegedly sped away after its occupants noticed the officers, prompting a pursuit that ended with Augustine’s arrest. Another occupant of the vehicle reportedly escaped.
The occupants of a second vehicle allegedly attempted to flee while firing at the police, resulting in a shootout in which two suspects were killed.
The Ghana Police Service said two vehicles were recovered from the suspects — a Toyota Highlander with registration number GS-1434-18 and a Hyundai Tucson with registration number GS 7915-17 — along with a pistol.
However, questions have emerged over the circumstances surrounding the incident following a denial by GCB Bank that its Labone branch was targeted.
“GCB Bank wishes to clarify that no robbery or attempted robbery took place at our Labone Branch or on the Bank’s premises,” the bank said.
The bank added that the branch was never breached and that no customer, staff member, funds or property was affected.
The conflicting accounts have raised questions over whether the suspects were actually preparing to rob the banks as alleged by the police and the precise nature of the operation that resulted in the arrests and deaths.
Further questions emerged after checks by SaharaReporters indicated that the Toyota Highlander bearing registration number GS 1434 18, identified by police as one of the vehicles recovered from the suspects, had reportedly been listed by Ghanaian authorities as impounded in 2019.
The apparent reuse of the registration number has raised questions about the vehicle’s history and aspects of the police account.
The Nigerian High Commission in Ghana has also intervened following Augustine’s arrest and the deaths of the two other suspects.
Destiny Austine Omon, media coordinator of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, had earlier questioned several aspects of the police account, including the alleged location of the robbery, the weapon reportedly recovered and the vehicles allegedly used by the suspects.
“The environment where the robbery took place is one of the safest environments in Ghana. It is close to 37 Military Base, the Ghanian Presidency, police headquarters and cantonment,” Omon told journalists.
He also questioned whether the weapon allegedly recovered was consistent with the scale of the operation described by the police.
“It does not add up for armed robbers wanting to do that scale of attack to be arrested with only a pistol,” he said.
The President of All Nigerian Communities in Ghana was also reportedly sent to Ghana Police Headquarters to seek clarification over Augustine’s arrest and the deaths of the two other suspects.
Despite the questions raised, the Ghana Police Service has maintained that its officers foiled a planned attack on the three banks.
Augustine’s remand means he will remain in custody pending his next appearance before the Accra Circuit Court on Wednesday, where the circumstances surrounding the case are expected to come under further scrutiny.
