The Ghana Police Service has arrested a Nigerian national, Augustine Okechukwu Maazi, and killed two suspected members of an alleged armed robbery gang during an operation which police said prevented planned attacks on three banks in the Labone area of Accra.
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The operation, carried out on Thursday, August 13, 2026, has, however, generated questions after GCB Bank denied that any robbery or attempted robbery occurred at its Labone Branch, while records showed that the registration number of one of the vehicles police said was recovered from the suspects had previously been identified in a separate police operation seven years earlier.
According to the Ghana Police Service, officers acted on intelligence that a gang of suspected armed robbers was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank, all located in Labone.
Police said the intelligence was received at about 10:45 a.m., prompting the immediate deployment of a team to the area.
“A police team was immediately deployed to Labone where the gang members were spotted in their vehicles parked close to the banks. Upon sighting the police, one of the vehicles sped off in an attempt to escape,” the Service said.
Police said officers pursued the fleeing vehicle and arrested Maazi, while another occupant managed to escape.
“The police gave them a chase and arrested suspect Augustine Okechukwu Maazi. The other occupant, however, managed to escape,” the police said.
According to the Service, suspects occupying a second vehicle also attempted to flee while allegedly firing at police officers.
“The robbers in the second vehicle also tried to escape amidst firing. The police engaged them in a shootout, resulting in the death of two suspects,” the statement said.
Police said two suspected members of the alleged gang were killed during the confrontation, while other suspects escaped.
Maazi was taken into custody and was said to be assisting investigators with enquiries into the alleged robbery plan.
The bodies of the two deceased suspects were deposited at a morgue for preservation, identification and autopsy.
Police said officers recovered two vehicles during the operation — a Toyota Highlander bearing registration number GS-1434-18 and a Hyundai Tucson with registration number GS 7915-17.
A blow pistol was also recovered, according to the police.
The account subsequently attracted scrutiny after records emerged showing that a Toyota Highlander bearing the same registration number, GS-1434-18, had reportedly been impounded by Ghanaian police in 2019 in connection with an entirely different alleged criminal operation.
A report dated March 21, 2019 stated that the Elubo District Police Command arrested three men who allegedly impersonated inspectors of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority and purported to be carrying out inspections at liquefied petroleum gas stations in the country’s Western Region.
The three suspects in that case were identified as Frederick Mensah, Isaac Opoku Mensah and George Larbi.
They were reportedly arrested with the assistance of officials of the National Petroleum Authority at an LPG station in Elubo after allegedly presenting themselves as officers working for a company contracted by the regulator to undertake inspections.
The men were alleged to have visited LPG stations in a Toyota Highlander and demanded approximately GH¢2,250 from each station, after which they reportedly issued handwritten receipts.
The 2019 report stated that the Toyota Highlander used by the men carried registration number GS-1434-18.
“The Toyota Highlander used for the operation, with registration number GS 1434-18, has since been impounded,” the earlier report stated.
That registration number is identical to the one the Ghana Police Service listed among vehicles allegedly recovered from the suspects in the August 13, 2026 Labone operation.
The development has consequently raised questions about the history and status of the vehicle, including how a Toyota Highlander said to have been impounded by police in 2019 came to bear the same registration number as the vehicle police now say was recovered from suspected armed robbers seven years later.
It has not been established from the information available whether the 2026 vehicle is the same Toyota Highlander involved in the 2019 case, whether the registration plate was subsequently released or reassigned, or whether another explanation accounts for the identical number.
The Ghana Police Service had not provided a public explanation for the apparent discrepancy in the vehicle records.
A source who questioned the development expressed concern about the account presented by the police.
“How do you explain that the police paraded a vehicle with a number plate in 2019, said it impounded it and then paraded the same number plate in 2026 as the one used for a supposed criminal operation?” the source asked.
The controversy deepened further after GCB Bank issued a statement denying that any robbery or attempted robbery occurred at its Labone Branch.
The bank said its attention had been drawn to reports about an attempted robbery in the Labone area in which references were made to GCB Bank.
“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.
GCB further stated that its premises were not breached and that none of its customers, employees, funds or property was affected.
“At no point was the branch breached, and no customer, member of staff, funds or property of the Bank was affected,” it stated.
The bank’s clarification differs in emphasis from the police account, which did not say that the suspected robbers entered any of the banks.
Rather, the Ghana Police Service maintained that officers intercepted the suspects after receiving intelligence that they were preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank and subsequently spotted them in vehicles parked close to the banks.
Under the police version of events, therefore, the alleged robbery was prevented before the suspects could enter any of the targeted banks.
Nonetheless, the GCB statement and the questions surrounding the Toyota Highlander registration number have added another dimension to the circumstances of the operation and prompted calls for further clarification.
Reports also indicated that questions had been raised about the police account following the arrest of the Nigerian national, although the detailed position of the Nigerian authorities was not contained in the material available.
Police maintain that Maazi was arrested during the operation after a vehicle allegedly carrying members of the suspected gang attempted to flee.
The Service said the second group of suspects also tried to escape while firing at officers, leading to the shootout in which two suspects were killed.
The police investigation is continuing, particularly with a view to identifying and apprehending the suspects who escaped, establishing the full circumstances surrounding the alleged plan to attack the three banks and determining the roles allegedly played by those involved.
The police are also expected to clarify questions arising from the Toyota Highlander bearing registration number GS-1434-18, given the earlier report that a vehicle with the identical registration number had been impounded in 2019.
Maazi remains in police custody and has not been convicted of any offence. The allegations against him and the other suspects remain allegations subject to investigation and any subsequent judicial proceedings.
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