A Green Wheel Logistics rider, Michael Oteng, narrowly escaped an armed robbery attack after he was chased by four men wielding cutlasses on a highway in Accra in the early hours of Wednesday.
The rider was operating a Green Wheel Logistics motorbike with registration number M-26-GE 1037 under the company’s work-and-pay scheme when the incident occurred. He sustained minor injuries to his fingers, thighs and knees after crashing while trying to escape from the attackers.
Recounting his ordeal to Julius Blay, a reporter for FM News Online, Mr. Oteng said the incident occurred at about 1:00 a.m. while he was returning from work.
He said he had travelled through the Osu area and was heading towards Labone when he noticed two motorbikes behaving suspiciously behind him.
According to him, he is always alert and frequently checks his mirrors while riding. He said the bright headlight of one of the motorbikes caught his attention, and when he looked closely, he realised the riders were following him.
His instincts immediately told him something was wrong, so he accelerated in an attempt to escape.
He explained that what initially appeared to be one motorbike turned out to be two, carrying four men in total. The suspects allegedly tried to block him from both the front and the rear, making it difficult for him to escape.
“I then saw that all four of them were holding cutlasses,” he said.
Mr. Oteng said he increased his speed and managed to overtake one of the motorbikes, but the suspects continued the chase.
In a desperate attempt to evade them, he moved towards the pavement, hoping to manoeuvre his way back onto the highway. However, his motorbike struck a rock, causing him to crash and somersault onto the road.
He credited his helmet with saving his life.
“My head hit the ground and bounced back. If I had not been wearing a helmet, I wouldn’t be alive to tell this story,” he recounted.
Despite sustaining minor injuries to his fingers, thighs and knees, he immediately got up and ran for his life after seeing one of the suspects getting off a motorbike with a cutlass.
Mr. Oteng abandoned his motorbike, mobile phone and other belongings and ran back towards the Osu Roundabout before collapsing beneath an overhead structure due to exhaustion and his injuries.
While resting there, he met another night worker, who offered to check the crash scene. The colleague later returned with surprising news that the robbers had abandoned the motorbike.
Mr. Oteng rushed back to the scene, where he found three men standing beside his motorbike. They initially believed he had been involved in a road accident.
He later learnt that a container truck approaching the scene had unknowingly frightened the robbers. Believing the truck was heading towards them, the suspects abandoned the motorbike and attempted to remove his mobile phone from its holder.
Fortunately, the phone holder was securely locked, preventing them from taking it before they fled.
Mr. Oteng recovered both his motorbike and phone, describing the incident as nothing short of divine intervention.
“I can only say God saved my life, and the truck driver unknowingly saved my motorbike,” he said.
Following the terrifying experience, Mr. Oteng said he has decided to stop working night shifts and advised fellow riders to avoid working into the early hours of the morning because of the growing security risks.
He said he had reported the incident to the management of Green Wheel Logistics and was preparing to file an official report with the Ghana Police Service.
Mr. Oteng appealed to the Ghana Police Service to intensify night patrols on major roads. He said fleet riders are increasingly becoming targets because they rely on mobile phones throughout their work and urged the police to adopt more active patrols in crime-prone areas to help prevent such attacks.
By Julius Blay
