According to Ghana’s state media, four men were each given a 10-year prison sentence for kidnapping two Canadian volunteers there several years ago.
According to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday, the guys were found guilty of conspiracy and abduction Lauren Tilly and Bailey Chittey in June 2019.
According to a statement released by the Ghanaian authorities at the time of the event, the two women were abducted from their dormitory in the Ashanti region town of Kumasi while performing volunteer work for Youth Challenge International.
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The women were rescued by security forces one week later.
Eight men were initially arrested in relation to the kidnapping, five Ghanaians and three Nigerians. The four convicted include the three Nigerians, Sampson Agalor, a 27-year-old computer engineer, Elvis Ojiyorme, a 27-year-old businessman and Jeff Onarsar, 28, and one Ghanaian, Yusif Yakubu.
The men were accused of demanding a ransom of some $800,000 for the women, the prosecution said during the initial days of the trial.
The men are not happy with the length of the sentence, said their lawyer Yaw Dankwah.
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“What baffled me was that the maximum sentence, in this case, is 10 years and these guys have been in custody for three years and the court, taking into consideration the length of time they have spent in custody, still gave the maximum sentence,” he said. Still, he has no plans to appeal the sentence, he said.
Kidnappings are relatively rare in Ghana which is regarded as a bastion of peace and stability in a largely volatile West Africa.
