By The case involving two Nigerians accused of kidnapping an 80-year-old American has been adjourned to April 8, 2025.
Emmanuel Adedoyin Adebayor, a 28-year-old trader, and Esther Ogbonna, a beautician, have been unable to meet their GH₵500,000 bail conditions. They appeared in court handcuffed and were escorted by the police. A third suspect, Dennis Poromo, remains at large.
Adebayor and Poromo have been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, specifically kidnapping and stealing. Esther faces an abetment charge. Both Adebayor and Esther have pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution stated that on December 6, 2024, the police received a complaint. This complaint came from FBI agents at the American Embassy in Accra regarding the abduction of a U.S. citizen, Diana Christine Nelson.
The 80-year-old victim had arrived in Ghana on November 22, 2024. Following investigations, police intelligence traced her to a hotel in Larteh Akwapim on December 8, 2024. Information gathered indicated that she was in the hotel with one of the accused persons.
On December 11, 2024, police arrested Adebayor. He was attempting to withdraw money from the victim’s account using her U.S. ATM debit card. He later led officers to a house in Tema Community 11, where the victim was being held hostage. The victim, who appeared traumatised, was subsequently taken to the hospital.
Investigations revealed that Adebayor had posed as Mark Hammond, a well-known U.S. actor, to lure the victim to Ghana.
Esther, the second accused, picked the victim up from Kotoka International Airport. She initially housed her in an apartment in East Legon Hills. Later, she moved her to Tema Community 11.
Prosecution disclosed that Esther was responsible for taking care of the victim throughout her stay in Ghana until their arrest.
The victim had arrived in Ghana with four mobile phones, all of which, along with her bank cards, were confiscated. “All the phones and her bank cards were seized from her. She was warned not to disclose any information to anyone,” the prosecution stated.
Adebayor and his accomplice, Poromo, who remains at large, allegedly withdrew $15,821.70 from the victim’s bank account and demanded a ransom of $150,000 from her family.
The victim’s bank cards and mobile phones were recovered from Adebayor and Poromo. This included a “Bru Phone.” Other devices were a Samsung Galaxy A15 and an iPhone 12. However, they had already sold some of the items at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The police retrieved cash amounting to GH₵7,000 and GH₵4,000 from Adebayor. This is believed to be proceeds from the sale of the phones. It is also part of the ATM withdrawals. However, the victim’s iPhone 12 was not recovered.
