Chief Justice nominee, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has defined why he sentenced considered one of Ghana’s most infamous criminals, Ataa Ayi, born Raymond Ayee Ayeetey, to 70 years imprisonment as a substitute of 30 years.
In line with him, the choice was vital to guard public security and to make sure that justice mirrored the emotional, social, and financial hurt suffered by victims.
Responding to questions throughout his vetting by Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, 10 November 2025, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie mentioned:
The judges and magistrates are skilled and have sentencing pointers. However generally they must transcend them. In my youthful days, I gave someone 70 years – Ataa Ayi.
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He added:
I gave him 70 years. And what I instructed myself was that if Atta Ayi was given 30 years and he comes again, my household could be the primary he would assault. So by the point he comes again after 70 years, I shall be useless and gone.
“I sentenced Ataa Ayi to 70 years in jail as a result of I feared he would assault me and my household upon his launch if he was given 30 years. And so by the point he comes again after 70 years, I’m useless and gone. – Justice Baffoe-Bonnie (Chief Justice Nominee) pic.twitter.com/T4rjEDZ2Cy
— EDHUB🌍ℹ (@eddie_wrt) November 10, 2025
Background: Who’s Ataa Ayi?
Ataa Ayi was considered one of Ghana’s most feared armed robbers within the early 2000s. A former taxi driver in Adabraka, Accra, he turned to crime after crashing his grasp’s automotive and being unable to pay for the repairs. Determined and out of choices, he joined a legal gang that launched him right into a violent profession of armed theft.
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In 1999, Ataa Ayi carried out his first main operation, stealing 12 million outdated cedis along with his gang. The success emboldened him, and he went on to orchestrate a sequence of violent robberies throughout Accra. His gang trailed victims from banks, hijacked autos, and stole money, automobiles, and valuables. Their whole haul was estimated at about 700 million outdated cedis, together with quite a few autos, cell phones, and jewelry.
Ataa Ayi’s legal fame grew to such an extent that his face was displayed on billboards nationwide in an unprecedented manhunt. His identify grew to become synonymous with armed theft in Ghana, getting into widespread vocabulary as a logo of criminality.
After years on the run, he was lastly arrested on 28 February 2005 at his hideout in Teshie-Nungua.
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He was subsequently sentenced to 160 years imprisonment with onerous labour and is at present serving his sentence on the Ankaful Most Safety Jail in Cape Coast.
