Alhaji Sheikh Shehu, popularly known as Ex-Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) Jack (Paul) Bebli, was reportedly one of the most feared people in Ghana in the 1980s and 1990s.
Jack Bebli, who was a Regimental Sergeant Major (RSM) of the defunct Commando (Panther) Unit of the Ghana Police Service, allegedly subjected residents of Accra to inhumane and cruel treatment.
At the peak of his unpopular prowess, Jack Bebli earned a reputation as the man whose name and presence invoked fear among Accra residents.
Reports indicate that Jack Bebli was so powerful that he could organise a group of his police and military colleagues who would block the stretch from Kinbu School to the Fire Service traffic light just to fleece persons plying the road of their belongings.
Due to the fear and power of Jack Bebli and his weapon-wielding servicemen, no man or car ever dared to pass or challenge him and his team.
His stature and demeanour alone are said to have sent shivers down the spines of his victims, leaving them in constant fear, disarray, and even trauma.
The late former President, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, mentioned Jack Bebli during the public hearing of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) on the interrogation and killing of Cpl. Halidu Giwa and L/Cpl. Sarkodie Addo in 1984.
Rawlings is heard saying, in a video from the public hearing sighted by GhanaWeb, that Jack Bebli was one of the officers in a video of the interrogation and killings in March 1984, which he was being questioned about.
The late former president said that he saw Jack Bebli carrying Cpl. Halidu Giwa, one of the soldiers who was killed.
“An aircraft landed… there was somebody else lying on the floor who was picked up by the beach during that dissident activity. And then the interrogation of this gentleman for about three, five minutes, talking about all these things… I think I remember, I did tell WO Tettey, I think that’s enough, please send it back to wherever.
“When the aircraft arrived, there were some security personnel on board. And I remember, what’s his name? Jack Bebli was the one who was carrying Giwa, off the aircraft. And as he got down from the aircraft, there was another one who had been captured, I believe, around the Kpong area,” the late former president narrated.
How Jack Bebli conducted the biggest road robbery in Ghana:
Suspicions that ex-RSM Jack Bebli was running an armed robbery cartel were confirmed in 1999 when he and his gang of robbers were arrested for robbing a vehicle transporting 240 million old cedis worth of gold bars.
Details of the incident indicate that Jack Bebli and his seven accomplices were driving in a Peugeot Estate vehicle and a Nissan Urvan bus, waiting at the Yamoransa Junction in the Central Region for the bullion van that was transporting the gold bars.
When the bullion van, driven by one Asamoah, passed by, the accused persons, armed with AK-47 rifles and dressed in military uniforms, followed it until they reached Abotsia, near Apam Junction, on the Cape Coast-Accra Road.
At Abotsia, the Peugeot Estate intercepted the convoy, assaulted those in the convoy, and fired shots into the bullion van.
This scared those in the bullion van, forcing them to flee as if they knew nothing about the attack. The accused persons then entered the bullion van and made away with the gold bars.
They also seized two other vehicles belonging to GHACEM and Ashanti Goldfields Company and carried the gold bars in the one driven by Mprah to Accra.
They shared the booty among themselves, and one Frimpong, who was fleeing with his share to Abidjan, was arrested at the Elubo border. Upon interrogation, Frimpong mentioned the others as his accomplices, who were later picked up by officers.
After months of prosecution, Jack Bebli and five others were, in July 2001, sentenced to 15 years in prison for armed robbery offences.
How Jack Bebli died
In May 2009, reports emerged that Jack Bebli suffered a heart attack and died at the Nsawam Prison, where he was serving his sentence.
Watch his remarks in the video below:
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