Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Amina Mohammed case - Witness refuses bail but •••

Thursday, December 23, 2010 (Page 3)

A young man who said he was on a bus with Amina Mohammed and others when the alleged mass rape and robbery took place in October 2010 yesterday prayed the Accra Circuit Court to refuse him bail.
Michael Frimpong did not give any reason for his request but the presiding judge, Mr Kyei Baffour, declined his weird request and granted him bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with three sureties.
The accused person, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of deceit of public officer, claimed that on the day of the said robbery, he could not have erection until he was hit with the butt of a gun that made him have sex with a 40-year-old woman.
When the matter was called in Accra yesterday, a State Attorney, Mr Paul A. Abariga, informed the court that the prosecution was not opposed to bail because investigations into the matter had been completed.
However, Michael shocked the court when he indicated he did not need bail. He said he wanted to be held in custody but the court held a different view and accordingly granted him bail.
Counsel for Amina Mohammed, Mr Andy Appiah-Kubi, however, alleged that Michael was a potential witness for Amina and was, therefore, being harassed by the police not to testify for Amina.
His claim has been described as false by Mr Abariga, who argued that it would be most unfortunate for the police to allow a criminal to walk the streets without being made to face the law.
The brief facts of the case were that the accused person went to the premises of a radio station in Achimota and pleaded for airtime to confirm Amina Mohammed’s claim that robbers attacked passengers when they reached Kintampo and that in the process, the robbers ordered a mass rape of female occupants of their bus.
According to the prosecution, the manager of the station did not give Michael the airtime and rather called the police who effected his (Michael’s) arrest.
The prosecution said Michael told the police during investigations that the bus he and Amina travelled on was a green OA bus but investigations later revealed that the said bus was rather an ash Yutong bus.
The prosecution further pointed out that Michael told investigators he had a ticket to prove he was on board the bus but he failed to produce the said ticket.
His case has been adjourned to January 17, 2011.
Meanwhile, Amina Mohammed, the woman at the centre of the rape and robbery story, has been charged with one count of publishing false news with intent to cause fear and panic.
She has pleaded not guilty and has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢5,000 with a surety.
Her trial has been adjourned to January 11, 2011.
The brief facts of Amina’s case were that she granted interviews to radio stations on October 26, 2010 and stated among other things that she was among passengers on a bus which was attacked by armed robbers when they reached Kintampo and that in the process the robbers ordered a mass rape of female occupants.
She was also quoted as saying a father was ordered to rape his 14-year-old daughter.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that such incident did not occur and said the driver of the said bus reported a case to the Ejisu Police and stated in his statement that his bus was nearly attacked by robbers at Kubease but he managed to escape although the windscreen of his vehicle was hit by a gunshot.
The prosecution further stated that the driver of the bus drove off 30 minutes after reporting the incident, which occurred at about 10 p.m. on October 11, 2010.

Osei-Adjei has no case to answer - Counsel

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

COUNSEL for Akwasi Osei-Adjei, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs who is standing trial with another for allegedly causing financial loss to the state resulting from importation of rice from India, has argued that the state failed to make a case against his client to warrant the court to order him to open his defence.
In a written “submission of no case” filed on Osei-Adjei’s behalf by his lawyer, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, yesterday, the defence argued that the prosecution’s assertion that Osei-Adjei and the former Managing Director of the National Investment Bank (NIB), Charles Daniel Gyimah, did not heed to the Public Procurement Act was false and out of place.
Osei-Adjei and Gyimah have been accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state for allegedly acting together to steal 2,997 bags of rice, valued at US$1,408,590.
However, lawyers for the accused persons have argued that diplomatic efforts embarked upon by the accused persons to solve the food shortage in the country have been “criminalised”.
The two have been charged with eight counts of conspiracy, contravention of provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), using public office for profit, stealing and wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢200,000 with two sureties each to be justified.
According to Mr Dame, the Public Procurement Act did not apply in this case because public funds were not used to procure the rice.
The written address also stated that Osei-Adjei could not have stolen the rice because he and Gyimah had not been involved in the packaging, transportation and discharge of the rice.
It argued that the accused persons did not have access to the warehouse where the rice had been kept, adding that there was also no evidence on record to suggest that the rice had been diverted by the accused persons on the high seas.
The written address also pointed out that all the prosecution witnesses had informed the court during their testimonies that they (prosecution witnesses) had not seen the accused persons divert the rice.
The defence further argued that the government had kept the rice at the warehouse for seven months before releasing it to the NIB, pointing out that the delay in the release of the rice had led to the spoilage of some of it, thereby reducing its value.
It said the decision to keep the rice at the warehouse for seven months had nothing to do with the accused persons and, therefore, if any loss had resulted from the sale of the rice, that loss could not be linked to the accused persons.
It further argued that the accused persons had not been involved in the sale of the rice to cause any financial loss to the state.
The defence submitted further that the NIB had bought the rice and paid for it and, therefore, it belonged to the bank and not the government.
According to the written address, the accused persons did not have a hand in the storage of the rice which had resulted in a large chunk of it going bad due to poor storage.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Bright Mensah, directed counsel for Gyimah to file his written address on or before December 31, 2010, while the prosecution was directed to file its written address on or before January 26, 2011.
The prosecution called 17 witnesses in the trial which began in October 2009.
Hearing continues on January 26, 2011.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Mabel Aku Baneseh's World: Prosecution re-opens case in Ya-Na trial

Mabel Aku Baneseh's World: Prosecution re-opens case in Ya-Na trial

Robbery at Lighthouse Chapel pastor's house - 3 JAILED 132 YRS • Murder case pending

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 (Lead Story)

THREE robbers who confessed to killing a 26-year-old pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel in a robbery operation at Gbawe, a suburb of Accra, were yesterday sentenced to a total of 132 years for robbery.
The three — Yaw Asamoah, 30, Kofi Yeboah, 30, and Osei Prempeh, 23 — were sentenced to 22 years each on each count of conspiracy and robbery. The sentences are to run consecutively.
A fourth accomplice, Ebo Kwabena, 30, was sentenced earlier this year by the same court to 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiring with the others to rob a bank manager.
Asamoah was sentenced in absentia, having escaped from lawful custody around 8 a.m. on October 27, 2010 when he was being escorted to stand trial in another court for a robbery offence.
Two prison officers are currently standing trial for allegedly aiding his escape.
The presiding judge, Mrs Patience Mills-Tetteh, was of the view that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
She held that robbery was a menace to society and it was important for the court to give them a deterrent sentence.
The convicts, on January 13, 2010, pleaded guilty to the crime but Asamoah, Yeboah and Prempeh changed their pleas on January 27, 2010, with the excuse that the police had coerced them to confess.
Ebo Kwabena, however, maintained his guilty plea and was accordingly convicted to 20 years’ imprisonment on two counts of conspiracy and robbery on January 27, 2010.
On January 13, 2010, the four convicts pleaded guilty and prayed the court to mete out harsh punishment to them for committing the heinous crime of killing the pastor.
The judge, however, reminded them that they were before her for robbery and not murder.
The court, upon hearing their plea, made an order that a pump action gun stolen from the banker and which was retrieved from the robbers should be handed over to the owner.
The brief facts of the case were that Asamoah and his accomplices, armed with a pistol, committed a string of robberies between November and December 2009 and in the process broke into the premises of their victims and made away with a pump action gun, one box of cartridges, car keys, laptops, some mobile phones and cash.
According to the police, Asamoah and his accomplices struck in December 2009, attacked residents of Gbawe, robbed them of their personal belongings and killed Pastor Nii Addy of the Lighthouse Chapel before fleeing to commit more robberies.
However, luck eluded them on January 6, 2010 when they were arrested following a tip-off while preparing to embark on another robbery expedition.

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Ya-Na trial • Court declines prosecution's request to re-open its case

Saturday, December 18, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Fast Track High yesterday refused the state’s request to reopen its case in the trial of 15 persons accused of murdering Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, the Overlord of Dagbon.
According to the court, the prosecution’s request to lead fresh evidence with the alleged recording of a confession by one of the accused persons, Alhassan Braimah, the sixth accused person who has been charged with conspiracy, did not fall within the law.
It further ruled that the said recording, which allegedly quoted Braimah as confessing to killing the Ya-Na, did not constitute a confession statement, in the first place, by judicial standards because it had been done when the accused person was not under any investigation for the murder of the Ya-Na.
The court further submitted that the accused person had also not been charged with any criminal offence at the time the said recording was done on another person’s handset.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice E.K. Ayebi, held that it was unfortunate for the prosecution to do piecemeal prosecution by not disclosing the full content of Braimah’s alleged confession statement, only to turn around, after closing its case, to request a reopen.
“The prosecution has all along in this trial failed to comply with the rules to make full disclosure. Today, it has inured to its disadvantage,” he held.
Touching on an affidavit in support of the prosecution’s request which stated, among others, that the police, as of October 2010, had the evidence that they were now seeking to introduce, the court queried why the prosecution had not introduced it and rather chose to close its case on November 5, 2010, only to come two days later requesting to introduce evidence it (prosecution) had access to in October 2010.
It was of the view that even if the prosecution’s request was granted, “the new evidence will not tilt in favour of the prosecution. It will also cause further delay in the trial for no reason”.
The affidavit in support of the prosecution’s application had stated, among others, that during investigations, the name of Nsoh kept cropping up and further investigations revealed that Yakubu Mohammed, alias Anafo, had, among other things, recorded a message from Braimah on his handset.
The message was to be given to Nsoh, who Alhassan claimed had given him and Yakubu some military training in Togo, after Yakubu had refused to give him (Alhassan) Nsoh’s phone number.
Questioning the rationale behind the recording, the court wondered why Anafo should record the said confession, instead of taking the said telephone number, adding, “Why did he preserve the message?”
“The police also said in the course of the investigations, the name of Nsoh kept coming up. What did they do about it? I am unable to use my discretion to grant the application. The application is dismissed,” Mr Justice Ayebi pointed out.
According to the court, the police investigators would have located the said Nsoh before starting the trial if they had “really” been interested in doing so, adding that it was obvious the police had access to the said recording well before the prosecution closed its case on November 5, 2010.
It further pointed out that the only evidence the prosecution had against Braimah was the fact that he was alleged to have been seen holding a machete on the day of the violence.
“Was the prosecution saying it was going to prefer murder charges against the accused person?” the court queried.
It said if that was the case, the prosecution knew the procedure, which included amending the charge sheet to lead fresh evidence which would cause more delay, to no avail.
The court, accordingly, upheld the objection of lead defence lawyer, Mr Philip Addison, who stated, among others, that there was complete lack of due diligence on the part of the prosecution because the evidence it now sought to adduce had been available to it at all material times since the trial began.
The prosecution would have called five witnesses, in addition to the 12 witnesses it had already called, if the court had granted its request.
Following the court’s ruling, Mr Addison is expected to file a written submission of ‘no case’ on or before January 10, 2011, while the prosecution is expected to file its response on or before January 20, 2011.
The case has been adjourned to January 31, 2011.
The other accused persons, who are alleged to have played various roles leading to the death of the Ya-Na, are Iddrisu Iddi, alias Mbadugu; Alhaji Baba Abdulai, alias Zohe; Kwame Alhassan, alias Achiri; Mohammed Abdulai, alias Samasama; Sayibu Mohammed; Alhassan Braima and Zakaria Yakubu, alias Zakaria Forest, who is currently on the run.
The rest are Mohammed Habib Tijani, the former District Chief Executive of Yendi; Baba Ibrahim, alias Baba Zey; Alhassan Mohammed, alias Mohammed Cheampon; Mohammed Mustapha; Shani Imoro; Yakubu Yusif, alias Leftee; Hammed Abukari Yussif and Abdul Razak Yussif, alias Nyaa Dagbani.
All the accused persons, except Zakaria Yakubu, have been charged with conspiracy to murder and have pleaded not guilty to the charge. Zakaria has been charged with murder.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Court decides on prosecution’s request

Thursday, December 16, 2010 (Page 51)

THE state’s request to reopen its case in the trial of 15 persons accused of murdering the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, will be decided by the Accra Fast Track High Court on Friday.
The state is expected to call five witnesses should its request be granted by the court, presided over by Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi.
The court fixed the date after counsel for the accused persons, Mr Philip Addison, had advanced his arguments which stated, among others, that the state had not satisfied the court on the charges preferred against the accused persons, for which reason it was coming up with the new application to drag on the case.
According to him, the prosecution had failed to demonstrate with concrete evidence why it must be allowed to reopen its case and for that reason the court should not grant the wish.
The lead prosecutor, Mr Wiredu, had closed the case for the prosecution on November 5, 2010 but later indicated its intention to reopen it.
An affidavit in support of the prosecution’s request to reopen the case deposed to by the Director of Operations at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Police Headquarters, DCOP Robert Ayalingo, said he supervised investigations and that as of October 2010 the police had the evidence that they were now seeking to introduce.
It said DCOP Ayalingo supervised investigations into the murder of the late Ya-Na Andani and stated that during investigations, the name of Nsoh kept cropping up and further investigations revealed that Yakubu Mohammed, alias Anafo, had, among other things, recorded a message from Alhassan Braimah, the sixth accused person, on his handset.
The message was to be given to Nsoh, whom Alhassan claimed had given him and Yakubu some military training in Togo, after Yakubu had refused to give him (Alhassan) Nsoh’s phone number.
In the recording, Alhassan Braimah, who has been charged with one count of conspiracy, was alleged to have confessed to killing the Ya-Na.
According to the prosecution, the message on the phone constituted a confession statement and was very significant to the case.
In a sharp response to the prosecution’s application to reopen the case, Mr Addison argued that there were only two people involved in the so-called recording, namely, Anafo and Braimah and, therefore, if the investigator said the name of Nsoh kept cropping up, his name might have been given to the investigator by Anafo.
“There is no information given to the court that there was any difficulty in getting the said Anafo and Nsoh who is alleged to be resident in Lome,” Mr Addison said.
He said there was complete lack of due diligence on the part of the prosecution because the evidence it now sought to adduce had been available to it at all material times since the trial began.
“Is the prosecution saying they have a recording of Braimah in which he is alleged to have confessed to the crime? Alhassan has been charged with conspiracy and not murder,” Mr Addison pointed out.
He said for the prosecution to say it had a confession from Braimah indicated that it was bringing a fresh case altogether when it had already called 12 witnesses in the case.
“To reopen the case and call five more witnesses means the prosecution seeks to contradict the 12 witnesses called so far,” Mr Addison said, and further argued that Braimah was not on trial for murder and so any alleged self confessions would further lead to embarrassment and a delay of the trial.
He further argued that Braimah was also not mentioned at the Wuaku Commission at all, adding that the alleged recording was done at a time Braimah was not under any investigations and, therefore, it could not amount to a confession statement.
The prosecution has so far called 12 witnesses in the case in which the 15 persons are standing trial for playing various roles resulting in the murder of the Ya-Na.
The accused persons are Iddrisu Iddi, alias Mbadugu; Alhaji Baba Abdulai, alias Zohe; Kwame Alhassan, alias Achiri; Mohammed Abdulai, alias Samasama; Sayibu Mohammed; Alhassan Braima and Zakaria Yakubu, alias Zakaria Forest, who is currently on the run.
The rest are Mohammed Habib Tijani, the former District Chief Executive of Yendi; Baba Ibrahim, alias Baba Zey; Alhassan Mohammed, alias Mohammed Cheampon; Mohammed Mustapha; Shani Imoro; Yakubu Yusif, alias Leftee; Hammed Abukari Yussif and Abdul Razak Yussif, alias Nyaa Dagbani.
All the accused persons, except Zakaria Yakubu, have been charged with conspiracy to murder and have pleaded not guilty to the charge. Zakaria has been charged with murder.

Govt, Kosmos resolve issues

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Back Page Lead)

GHANA has more to celebrate for its oil find following the amicable resolution of differences between the government and Kosmos Energy, one of the partners in the Jubilee Oilfields.
According to the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Agyei, issues pertaining to data disclosure on the oilfields to more than 17 companies by Kosmos Energy without government’s consent, as well as spillage of low toxicity crude on the high seas by the company, had all been settled.
There had also been a stalemate between the government and Kosmos over the company’s decision to sell its shares to Exxonmobil of the USA but that issue was no longer relevant following Kosmos’s decision not to sell its shares, the Energy Minister stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He, however, declined to give details of the resolution, as well as the dates on which the issues were straightened out.
“It is not the best to disclose all those details after fruitful ongoing negotiations. We will breach the outcome of the negotiations which are ongoing. What is important is that there is no problem between Kosmos Energy and the government right now,” Dr Oteng-Agyei emphasised.
Ghana will today join the league of oil-producing countries when President J.E.A. Mills presses the knob to pave the way for the production of oil which was discovered in commercial quantities in June 2007.
Dr Oteng-Agyei said 55,000 barrels of crude will be produced in a day over a period of six to 10 months, adding that the production would gradually increase to 120,000 barrels a day over the next couple of years.
He gave the assurance that the government had put in place measures to ensure that the revenue generated was prudently used to develop the country for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
He said the government would also ensure that oil companies complied with the laws of the country and protected the environment, adding, “We, as a government, will uphold the rights of investors and deal with them in transparency, honesty and integrity.”
Kosmos Energy and its partners discovered oil in commercial quantities at West Cape Three Points in June 2007. The other partners in the Jubilee Oilfields are Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, Anadarko, Sabre Oil, the GNPC and the E. O. Group.
More discoveries have been made, aside from the Jubilee Oilfields, and due to the billions of dollars needed in the development of these oilfields, their exploitation will be carried out in phases.

Court decides fate of Onetouch Jan 20

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Page 3)

THE Accra Circuit Court will, on January 20, 2011, decide the guilt or otherwise of the Founder and General Overseer of the Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry, Prophet Nana Kofi Yirenkyi, aka Prophet Onetouch, who has been accused of defiling his daughter.
The court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, fixed the date after lead counsel for the accused person, Mr K. N. Adomako Acheampong, had announced that the defence team had closed its case.
Mr Acheampong made the announcement after a Chief State Attorney, Ms Helen Kwawukume, had cross-examined the Station Officer at the Akropong Police Station, Inspector Mohammed Ali Balah, who had, in his evidence, said on March 2, 2010, the complainant, Madam Bernice Owiredua Asamaa, the victim and her aunt had come to the Akropong-Akwapim Divisional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) to lodge a complaint about the alleged incest.
After announcing to the court that the defence had closed its case, Mr Acheampong said the defence would file its written address on December 24, 2010.
Ms Kwawukume, for her part, said she would file her response to the defence’s address on January 13, 2011.
After the parties had agreed on the dates, the trial judge then fixed January 20, 2011 as the date for judgement in the trial which has lasted nearly 11 months.
Prophet Onetouch has pleaded not guilty to one count of incest and rather accused a former watchman of his of defiling the victim.
He has since been refused bail by the circuit court.
In his evidence-in-chief, Inspector Balah said he was on duty when the complainant made the complaint and as a result he had come to Accra to arrest the accused but did not find him. However, the Odorkor Police Command agreed to arrest him.
Inspector Balah said on March 4, 2010, he sent the accused to the Akropong-Akwapim Police Station, where there was a meeting among the accused, the complainant, himself (Inspector Balah), the Akropong Divisional Commander of Police, Mina Ayim, and others.
He said at the meeting, the complainant told DCOP Ayim that the victim had told her aunt that the accused had been defiling her for the past two years, but the accused person denied and said it was one Efo who had confessed to him (accused) that he had inserted his fingers into victim’s vagina, for which reason the accused called the complainant to inform her and asked her to question the victim about it.
According to Inspector Balah, when DCOP Ayim enquired from the complainant about the truth in what the accused had said, she (complainant) admitted that it was true.
After the meeting, the accused was sent back to the Mampong-Akwapim Police Station cells.
Answering questions under cross-examination from Ms Kwawukume, the witness said he had assisted to build the docket on the case.
He said he had been subpoenaed to testify in the case and explained that he chose to be an independent witness to the accused person on the grounds that there had been nobody around to be an independent witness when he was taking statements from the accused person.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

No end for Ataa Ayi

December 11, 2010 (Front Page)

GHANA’S most notorious armed robber, Raymond Aryee Aryeetey, alias Ataa Ayi, made another appearance in court yesterday to receive a 40-year jail sentence in addition to the 70-year jail term he is already serving for robbery.
A pale figure of how he looked four years ago, Ataa Ayi, 39, was found guilty on charges of conspiracy and robbery to serve the 40-year sentence with hard labour with effect from the day he completes his 70-year jail term.
He was sentenced with six others to a total of 260 years’ imprisonment for robbing a businesswoman of $65,000 and GH¢4,500 in February 2003.
The trial judge, Mr Justice P. Baffoe-Bonnie, a Supreme Court judge, had imposed the 70-year jail term on Ataa Ayi and his accomplices in 2006, after he had been nabbed in February 2005 for committing a string of robberies.
Four of his accomplices, namely, Raymond Ameh, Frederick Lamptey Annan, alias Nuumo, Kwabla Agbodogah, alias Rojay, and Samuel Kwaku Annan, alias Sammy Tugah, were also sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment each.
Annan, Agbodogah and Ameh are already serving 69 years’ imprisonment each.
The court, however, sentenced two other accomplices, Nana Osei Razak and Nana Yaw Owusu, who confessed in March and July 2005, respectively, to conspiring with Ataa Ayi and the rest of the convicts to commit the robbery, to 30 years’ imprisonment.
The trial suffered a setback when Ataa Ayi, Owusu, Annan, Agbodogah and Tugah denied confessing to committing the crimes to the police. A mini trial was held in the process.
The prosecution called witnesses following the denial by the convicts that they had confessed to any wrongdoing to the police, with the explanation that they had been made to admit their caution statements under extreme duress, intimidation and threats of harm.
After the back-and-forth movements, the court gave its judgement in the presence of the prosecutor of the case, Mr Asiamah Sampong. Defence lawyers were absent.
Ataa Ayi and the other convicts who are in their 30s looked indifferent, as if to say, “We are condemned and have nothing to lose.”
Nuumo was assisted by prison guards to walk because sources said he had suffered a stroke in prison.
In March 2006, there had been a twist in the case when Razak confessed to committing the offence with the other convicts and said he had received $5,000 and GH¢200 after the robbery.
Another accomplice, Nana Yaw Owusu, had also confessed on July 4, 2005 to having committed the offence but explained that those he had committed the offence with were not those he was standing trial with.
Owusu had informed the court that the Ataa Ayi he had committed the offence with was not the Ataa Ayi in the dock along with him.
They were, therefore, convicted on the charges of conspiracy and robbery and their sentences deferred till yesterday.
The court, after the full trial, was of the view that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced them accordingly.
Ataa Ayi and the three others — Samuel Kweku Annan, Agbodogah and Ameh — had, on February 27, 2006, been sentenced to a total of 277 years’ imprisonment with hard labour by the same court.
They had been convicted on two counts of conspiracy and robbing Prism Forex Bureau at Dzorwulu of GH¢7,000 at gunpoint on October 14, 2003.
In September 2008, Ataa Ayi and three others, namely, Sarfo Sarpong, Michael Tagoe and Nana Osei Razak, had been found guilty of raiding the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) at gunpoint on May 19, 2004 and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment each.

Two cops jailed for robbery

December 9, 2010 (Front Page)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday sentenced two police officers to a total of 20 years’ imprisonment for robbing a Belgian national at Achimota, a suburb of Accra, on March 19, 2010.
The convicts, General Corporal David Koomson, 33, and Lance Corporal Franklin Turkson, 28, and two of their colleagues who are currently on the run were said to have assaulted the Belgian and in the process robbed him of his gold watch worth $25,000, cash of $5,000 and GH¢700, as well as his iPhone cellular phone worth $1,000.
Koomson, who was from the Panthers Unit and attached to the Flagstaff House, was said to have abandoned his guard post at 8 a.m. to commit the robbery.
The accomplices on the run are General Constable Isaac Shiburah and General Constable Edward Opoku.
Three other accomplices whose names were not provided to the court are also on the run.
Koomson and Turkson, who told the Belgian they were from the national security outfit before committing the offence, were convicted on two counts of conspiracy and robbery and were sentenced accordingly.
Each of them was sentenced to three years on the count of conspiracy and 10 years on the count of robbery. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, said the prosecution was able to prove the guilt of the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt.
He said the 11 prosecution witnesses were able to lead evidence to warrant the conviction of the accused, adding that the complainant was able to identify the convicts, to the extent of describing a scar on Turkson’s arm.
According to the court, the prosecution was able to prove that the convicts and their accomplices met and hatched a plan to rob the Belgian.
The convicts and their families looked sorrowful when judgement was passed.
The facts of the case were that the complainant, who was based in the United States of America (USA), arrived in the country to purchase gold.
According to the prosecution, two civilians picked him up from his hotel and informed him that they were taking him to a gold refinery.
On reaching a point at Achimota, Koomson and Turkson, together with the others on the run, alighted from a black VW Golf car, with registration number AS 3115 T, ordered the Belgian to get down from the vehicle and in the process handcuffed him, beat him up and took away his money and other valuables.
After robbing the Belgian, the convicts and their accomplices fled, leaving the Belgian to his fate. The Belgian managed to stop a taxi and the driver took him to a private radio station where an announcement on the robbery was made.
The convicts were arrested barely six hours after the robbery. Turkson was said to have confessed to have committed the crime and mentioned Koomson and others as his accomplices.

No military here - Court directs at Mobilla trial

December 8, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday directed the Military High Command to transfer, with immediate effect, the two soldiers who are alleged to have murdered Alhaji Issa Mobilla from military custody into prison custody.
The court warned that it would have no option but cite military personnel for contempt if they escorted Corporal Yaw Appiah and Private Eric Modzaka to court on the next adjourned date.
According to the court, it was not fair for the accused persons to be escorted to court by military personnel, in contravention of a March 24, 2009 order by the Tamale High Court for their detention in prison custody, when the police usually obeyed court orders.
The two and Private Seth Goka, who is on the run, were alleged to have murdered Alhaji Mobilla, who was the Northern Regional Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), on December 9, 2004.
Appiah and Modzaka have pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and murder, while Goka is being tried in absentia.
Reminding the Military High Command of the Tamale High Court order which remanded the two into custody, the court was of the view that as far as it was concerned, there was no other order reversing the directive by the Tamale High Court.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, accordingly urged an Army lieutenant who had led the military escorts to inform his superiors of the court’s directive.
The court had earlier directed the prosecution and the defence teams to file their addresses on whether the trial should continue or start afresh following the recovery of the foreman of the seven-member jury who had suffered a stroke in the course of the trial.
The foreman, who had been replaced with another juror, recuperated before the trial resumed and for that reason a Chief State Attorney, Ms Penelope Marmattah, prayed the court to continue hearing the case.
However, counsel for the accused persons, Mr Thaddeus Sory, objected to the continuation of the case and prayed the court to start hearing it afresh.
Following Mr Sory’s objection, the trial judge gave the prosecution and the defence up to Tuesday, December 14, 2010 to file their addresses.
The trial judge was also expected to decide whether or not he would continue hearing the matter, following an objection from Mr Sory who prayed the judge to step aside following his promotion to the Court of
Appeal.
According to Mr Sory, the judge had failed to produce any document to prove that the Chief Justice had appointed him (trial judge) to hear the matter afresh.
The facts of the case are that Alhaji Mobilla was arrested by the police on December 9, 2004 for allegedly supplying the youth in Tamale with guns to foment trouble.
While he was in custody, the police claimed that they received information that his followers and sympathisers were mobilising to free him. The deceased was consequently transferred from police cells to the Kamina Military Barracks and handed him over to the three accused persons.
According to the prosecution, Alhaji Mobila died in military custody three hours after he had been handed over to the accused persons who were on duty that day.
The chief pathologist’s report revealed that the deceased was sent to the hospital dead and that he died from multiple wounds.

£110 million pounds recovered from Internet fraudsters

Monday, December 6, 2010 (Page 54)

ONE hundred and ten million pound sterling was recovered from Internet fraudsters between 2007 and the last quarter of 2010, while 12,000 fraudulent e-mails were intercepted during the same period.
The amount, which would have been lost by individuals the world over, was recovered through the joint efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Europe.
Within the period, the two bodies also intercepted 3,870 scam e-mails from reaching potential victims and managed to alert 700,000 potential victims who could have lost millions of dollars.
A Principal Staff Officer of the EFCC, Mr Bala Sanga, disclosed this at a press conference after a three-day summit on cybercrime in Abuja, Nigeria.
More than 300 delegates, mainly law enforcement personnel from 15 West African countries, Europe and the United States of America (USA), attended the summit on the theme: "The Fight against Cybercrime: Towards Innovative and Sustainable Economic Development".
It was organised by the EFCC in collaboration with Microsoft and the United Nations Office on Organised Crime (UNODC).
The event was hosted by the EFCC in conjunction with Microsoft, the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the Council of Europe, International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and SOCA participating.
Explaining further, Mr Sanga said the EFCC had also set up a transaction clearing platform to provide basic due diligence, which includes the profitability of a business proposal, track record of the solicitor of the business, as well as the identity and existence of the business to enable investors to make informed decisions.
According to Mr Sanga, the bureau was set up to provide free services to potential investors who had received business proposals.
Mr Sanga urged African governments to be on the alert and flush out these criminals whose activities were tarnishing the image of the continent.
The Citizenship Programme Manager of Microsoft West and Central Africa, Dr (Mrs) Jummmai Umar-Ajijola, urged all stakeholders to be on deck to fight cyber crime to the barest minimum.
She said there was a programme in place to divert the attention of the youth from cyber crime to productive ventures, adding that Microsoft had so far signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nigerian government to, among other things, check child pornography on the Internet.
The Officer in charge of Conference Support Section, Focal Point for Cyber Crime, Organised Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch of the UNODC, Ms Gillian S. Murray, said 3,000 child pornography websites were currently in existence.
She said the UNODC was making inroads into the fight against child pornography and exploitation and accordingly advised parents and teachers to join the fight.
The Director in charge of Digital Crimes Unit, Legal and Corporate Affairs of Microsoft, Europe, Middle East and Africa gave the assurance that Microsoft would continue to support the fight against cyber crime.

'Sakawa' calls for teamwork

Friday, December 3, 2010 (Front Page)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh, Abuja
THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, Mrs Farida Waziri, has appealed to governments in the sub-region to devise means of sharing information on the movement and activities of cyber criminals in the region.
According to her, it was easier to solicit and share information on cyber crimes and other criminal activities from security agencies in developed countries than in West Africa and Africa as a whole.
The woman behind the crack-down on corrupt public officials in Nigeria, many of whom are serving prison terms, said “there is the need for free-flow of information and intelligence from all security agencies in order to combat crime effectively on the continent”.
“Currently, we do not even know who to contact for information when the need arises. This is serious because the criminals are getting smarter, sophisticated and proactive,” Mrs Waziri said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Abuja, Nigeria.
She said criminals were getting more sophisticated each day and were collaborating with each other to commit more sophisticated crimes, and stressed the need for collaboration to fight them back.
She suggested the formation of a forum where information on criminal activities would be shared on a daily basis to protect the region from criminals.
“If we sit inactive, we would be taken by events. It is important we do not sit, wait and take action only after the criminals strike. We must strike first,” Mrs Waziri emphasised.
Touching on the EFCC’s fight against crime, she said the Commission had made tremendous progress in the fight against corruption to the extent that most suspects had either been convicted or were currently standing trial.
She also disclosed that some foreign companies operating in Nigeria were currently being investigated for allegedly paying bribes to public officials in order to secure contracts.
The EFCC, in conjunction with Microsoft, is currently organising a West African Cyber Crime Summit on the theme: "The Fight Against Cyber Crime: Towards Innovative and Sustainable Economic Development.”
More than 300 delegates, mainly law enforcement personnel from 10 West African countries, are attending the three-day summit.
The objectives of WACCS are to position the fight against cyber crime as a national priority to help the economic development of the region, provide a platform to develop capacity building with scalable and sustainable solutions, strengthen trust by developing partnerships among various stakeholders at the national and international level, and showcase best practices and case studies of partner organisations in combating cyber crime
The other organisers of the summit are the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the Council of Europe, International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in attendance.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Ghana, Nigeria in world 419 ranking

Thursday, December 2, 2010 (Front Page, Daily Graphic)

The world loses $557 million annually to cyber crime, with Ghana now ranked among the top 10 countries in the world where the crime, popularly known as 419, is most prevalent.

Two other West African countries, namely, Nigeria and Cameroun, are also among the top 10 countries, according to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, Mrs Farida Waziri.

Nigeria, by far, leads the African group with eight per cent rate of the crime, followed by Ghana and Cameroun with 0.7 and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

The United States tops the world with 65 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom, 9.9 per cent, and Nigeria's eight per cent.

Others are Canada, 2.2 per cent; Malaysia, seven per cent; Ghana 0.7 per cent; South Africa, 0.7 per cent; Spain, 0.7 per cent, and Cameroon, 0.6 per cent.

"Although we contribute an insignificant portion to cyber crime, that is unjustifiable because any level of criminality cannot be accepted," the EFCC Chairman stated.

Mrs Waziri was speaking at the opening ceremony of the first West African Cyber Crime Summit (WACCS) which is currently going on in Abuja, Nigeria.

More than 300 delegates, mainly law enforcement personnel, from 10 West African countries are attending the three-day workshop which is on the theme, "The Fight against Cyber Crime: Towards Innovative and Sustainable Economic Development."

The objectives of WACCS are to position the fight against cyber crime as a national priority to help the economic development of the region, provide a platform to develop capacity building with scalable and sustainable solutions and strengthen trust by developing partnerships among various stakeholders at the national and international level.

The summit is also expected to showcase best practices and case studies of partner organisations in combating cyber crime.

The event is being hosted by the EFCC, in collaboration with Microsoft, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the participation of the Council of Europe, the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

Mrs Waziri pointed out that the $557 million was the recorded figure from reported cases, adding that the figure could run into billions of dollars if most victims reported cyber crimes.

She explained that most victims shied away from reporting their losses to the authorities for fear of being branded greedy, gullible or stupid.

She said the goal of West African governments should be to ensure that their countries dropped out of the top 10.

She also hinted that there was a gradual movement of cyber criminals from Nigeria to neighbouring West African States.

Mrs Waziri, therefore, urged political leadership across West Africa to adopt common measures and strategies for combating cyber crime, which was gradually creeping into other West African countries.

The Vice-President of Nigeria, Dr Mohammed Namadi Sambo, in a speech read on his behalf, stated that as a follow-up to the summit, the Nigerian government would collaborate with stakeholders in the sub-region with a view to anticipating and pro actively outlining policy initiatives to fight cyber crime.

For his part, the General Manager of Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Mr Emmanuel Onyeje, urged banks, schools, health care institutions, among others, to find innovative ways of fighting cyber crime, since it affected people from all walks of life.

Representatives from the UNODC, the Ministry of Justice, the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-corruption, ECOWAS, among others, pledged their readiness to help fight cyber crime.

Friday, November 26, 2010

HFC man grabbed for lotto deal

Friday, November 25, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

AN employee of the HFC Bank, Joseph Atta Wood, was yesterday put before the Accra Fast Track High Court for allegedly stealing GH¢327,673.11 belonging to his employers.
The accused person was said to have committed the offence between January, 2006 and May, 2010 and allegedly used the stolen money to acquire a storey building on two plots of land at Ashalley Botwe, a suburb of Accra, a Mercedes Benz saloon car, a Hyundai truck and also set up a sachet water distribution company .
Wood allegedly took advantage of his position as officer in charge of an arrangement made between the Department of National Lotteries (DNL) and the bank and, in the process, forged winning tickets to pay himself.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logo, granted the accused bail in the sum of GH¢400,000 with three sureties, one of which is to be justified after he had pleaded not guilty to one count of stealing.
He was also ordered not to dispose of the assets he had allegedly acquired through his dubious acts.
The court also directed that the sureties must be residents of Accra or Tema.
Prosecuting, a Principal State Attorney, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, told the court that Wood was employed by the bank as an officer in charge of the arrangement made between DNL and HFC over the payment of winning coupons.
The arrangement was made by the two bodies in January, 2006.
Wood’s duty was to receive winning tickets from customers and pay them discounted face value of the amount after which DNL would refund the moneys paid to its clients by the bank.
By the agreement, customers who had won lotto draws and needed money immediately could claim the money at HFC Desk at the DNL at a discounted face value.
The winning tickets would then be validated by Wood before making payment. The winning tickets are sent to DNL later by HFC Bank for a refund of the face value of the tickets.
According to the prosecution, in January, 2010, HFC Bank wrote to DNL claiming to be reimbursed an outstanding balance of winning tickets totalling GH¢327,673.11, which the bank claimed it had paid to DNL’s customers but the DNL informed the bank that it was not indebted to it.
Following the bank’s demand and the DNL’s denial of owing it, the accused person was directed by the bank to submit a breakdown of the winning tickets making out the outstanding balance of GH¢327,673.11 on the DNL discounting account.
During checks by the bank and the DNL, it emerged that there were no genuine tickets to support the supposed payments of GH¢327,673.11 and that the accused person had dishonestly appropriated the amount by forging winning tickets.
Counsel for the accused person, Mr Egbert Faibille, in applying for bail, said the charges were mere allegations.
According to him, there was no proof that the accused person had misappropriated the said amount.
The case was adjourned to December 8, 2010

Thursday, November 25, 2010

'There is no legal vacuum for oil production'

November 25, 2010 (Page 51)

THE Government has denied claims of non-existence of a law to regulate the production of oil in commercial quantities from December, this year.
According to a Deputy Minister of Energy in-charge of Petroleum, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah said PNDC Law 84 which regulates exploration of petroleum had served the country well since 1984 and was still in existence while the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) had a Model Contract to regulate the activities of oil companies in the country.
The Deputy Minister explained the Model Contract currently tackles issues on exploration, production, disclosure of data, shareholding among a host of other issues as was being practiced in other oil producing countries.
Mr Buah told the Daily Graphic, that there was, therefore, no vacuum in terms of laws to regulate the activities of petroleum companies in the country.
“Production of first oil in December will take place without any hitch,” Mr Buah emphasized and explained that what the government had sought to do now was to amend sections of PNDC Law 84 to cater for issues of national interest.
Mr Buah said a Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Bill had been put together to revise the Petroleum (Exploration and Production) Act, 1984, PNDCL 84 in order to tighten up the existing legal framework.
He said the Bill also intended to create an enabling environment for increased private sector participation and investment in the petroleum sector and to strengthen the regulatory framework for healthy competition and quality assurance.
The Bill, dated July 2, 2010 and signed by the Energy Minister, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei touches on a wide range of issues including petroleum rights, regulation of petroleum operations, allocation of blocks, rights and obligation of contractors and sub-contractors, fiscal provisions such as payment of royalties, tax, bonus payment, auditing, offences and penalties.
Mr Buah further explained that the government had complied with Article 268 of the 1992 Constitution which required that an independent Commission with powers to regulate and monitor the exploration, development and production of petroleum resources in the country must be established.

SEXUAL SHOCKER • 3 Siblings lay bare ordeal with dad

November 25, 2010 (Lead Story)

AN official of the Customs, Excise and Preventive (CEPS) has found himself at the wrong side of the law for allegedly defiling his two biological daughters aged 16 and seven.
Prosecutors said Michael Kojo Brentuo Acquah, 34, had several sexual encounters with his two daughters in their (victims’) room until November 2010 when the victims reported their ordeal to their mother.
According to the prosecutors, the last time the accused person had sexual intercourse with his 16-year-old daughter was November 11, 2010.
Acquah was also alleged not to have spared his three-year-old son whom he sexually assaulted. It was his alleged abuse of his son’s buttocks which broke his cover.
The three-year-old boy reported his father’s alleged misconduct to his (boy’s) mother, who confronted Acquah and eventually reported him to the police, leading to his arrest.
Acquah, who looked subdued when he was called into the dock to answer the charges, pleaded not guilty to one count of defilement and two counts of incest.
He was remanded in custody by the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, to reappear on December 1, 2010.
A man who appeared to be Acquah’s brother quickly alerted Acquah to the presence of the media when he attempted to leave the courtroom. With that information, Acquah rushed back into the courtroom to resume his seat.
The middle-aged man who was in smock confronted a TV3 cameraman for attempting to take pictures of him. A CEPS official in uniform was also spotted standing by the middle-aged man. His mission was unknown.
Eventually, Acquah managed to sneak out of the courtroom when he realised that the journalists were busily taking notes during the trial of Prophet Kwasi Yirenkyi, alias Jesus Onetouch, who is also on trial for allegedly defiling his daughter.
Prosecuting, an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mrs Sarah Acquah, said the victims and the accused person lived at Banana Inn, a suburb of Accra, and that some few months ago the three-year-old boy complained that his father had been constantly massaging his buttocks, resulting in pain.
According to the prosecution, the accused person got offended and resorted to insults when his wife confronted him over the incident.
In the ensuing confrontation, the 16-year-old girl was said to have told her mother that Acquah had had sexual intercourse with her on several occasions, the last time being November 11, 2010.
The older victim also told her mother that Acquah had threatened to send her to the village to live with her grandmother if she dared tell her mother about her ordeal.
The seven-year-old girl also told her mother that Acquah had defiled her.
Following the revelations by the victims, their mother reported Acquah to the police, who issued medical forms to the victims to attend hospital for examination.
Acquah was arrested after medical reports had revealed that his daughters had been defiled.

Jesus Onetouch's wife defends husband

Thursday, November 25, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE wife of Prophet Kwasi Yirenkyi, alias Jesus Onetouch, yesterday testified in the case in which her husband is standing trial for allegedly defiling his daughter and stated that the allegations levelled against her husband were false.
Akosua Agyeiwaa corroborated her husband’s earlier evidence that it was rather a security man in their house who defiled the victim.
According to her, she and others accompanied the accused person to report the alleged defilement of the victim by the watchman, known as Efo Emma, to the police in August, 2009.
Prophet Onetouch has pleaded not guilty to one count of defilement and has been denied bail by the circuit court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa.
The witness, who was led in evidence by one of the defence lawyers, Mr Paul Ofori, said she was also present when the victim’s mother said her daughter had informed her that Efo Emma had defiled her.
In answer to allegations that her husband had sex with the victim on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, the witness stated that those claims were false because her husband’s itinerary was such that there was no way such a thing could have happened.
According to her, the victim had once confessed to her that she, her mother and her grandmother were witches who had once attempted to spiritually attack her (witness) but they could not because they had been met by a strong light.
Agyeiwaa said the police, the victim and her mother visited their home and entered the bedroom after her husband had been arrested for defiling the victim.
She said the accused person protested the complainant’s decision to withdraw the victim from school to attend to chores in the village but the complainant did not budge and succeeded in taking the victim to the village in July 2009.
She gave the itinerary of the family and stated that there had been no point in time when the victim and the accused person had been left alone.
Agyeiwaa also denied concocting stories to save her husband from imprisonment, adding that she was a mother and would not defend anything evil.
Answering questions under cross-examination from a Chief State Attorney, Ms Helen Kwawukume, the witness told the court that her daughter had once informed her that Efo Emma had touched her buttocks.
She denied suggestions from the prosecution that she had made up the story to divert attention from her husband, adding that the victim confessed to being a witch and that it was not a move on her part to vilify the victim.
Witness also denied a suggestion from the prosecution that the victim was not her favourite.
A nephew of the accused person’s, Kwame Asare, said he had once seen Efo Emma and the victim in a compromising position and further stated that he later reported the incident to the accused person.
He said the children in the accused person’s household did not have access to the accused person’s bedroom, adding that there had been no point in time when the accused person had assaulted someone in the household.
During cross-examination, the witness denied a suggestion from the prosecution that he had been summoned by the accused person to tell lies to the court.
Hearing continues on December 8, 2010.

Tema cocaine accused granted bail

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 (Page 3)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday granted GH¢150,000 bail with three sureties, one to be justified, to one of the four persons accused of allegedly importing 125 slabs of cocaine with a street value of $10 million.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logo, granted bail to Edward Kojo Arhin, a clearing agent, after the prosecution had indicated it was not opposed to the grant of bail to Arhin.
Arhin was directed to report every other day to the investigator in charge of the case. The court also directed that the sureties for the accused person should be residents of Accra or Tema.
The court also gave the prosecution one week to come before it and justify why it (court) should continue holding Anthony Wilson, the Operations Manager of FormulaOne+, importers of the alleged narcotic drugs.
The first accused person, Benjamin Armstrong, was however, remanded in custody to reappear on November 30, 2010.
An accused six-month pregnant person, Kyerewaa Twum-Barimah, was on November 9, 2010 granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000 with two sureties.
The court’s directive stemmed from an application for discharge or in the alternative grant of bail by counsel for Armstrong and Wilson, who argued on the grounds that there was no evidence to show his clients were guilty of any crime.
Arguing his motion for discharge of his clients or in the alternative grant of bail, Mr Joe Aboagye Debrah, informed the court that facts in the knowledge and possession of officials of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) clearly indicated that his clients were innocent of any crime.
According to counsel, Armstrong was financed by the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to order additives for petroleum products from the United States of America (USA) and nowhere was he or
Wilson involved in the packaging and shipment of the products to Tema.
Counsel argued that the Master Bill of Laden accompanying the container containing the additives and cocaine proved that the consignee was Consolidated Shipping Services, adding that by law the consignee was the importer.
He also argued that the container belonged to Consolidated Shipping Services and nowhere did the bill of laden name Armstrong and Wilson as the owners.
Mr Debrah said Armstrong and Wilson never had any physical or legal control over the packaging and shipment of the additives, and that the seal of the suppliers of the additives had also been broken.
He said the NACOB was aware the seal was broken en route to Tema, adding that the security agency also knew the container was taken off the ship for three days while in Panama.
Mr Debrah stated that from the prosecution’s own facts and facts adduced from the bill of laden, it was abundantly clear the accused persons had not committed any crime.
He, therefore, prayed the court to look at the facts of the case and let justice prevail, adding that the accused persons were responsible citizens with fixed places of abode.
Responding to the defence counsel’s application, a Principal State Attorney, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, said the state was not opposed to bail for Arhin.
She, however, opposed the grant of bail for Armstrong and Wilson on the grounds that Armstrong travelled to the USA after placing the order for the fuel additives, while Wilson was the one who contracted the clearing agents to clear the fuel additives.
The court said it was not enough for the prosecution to state that Wilson was culpable for simply being the Operations Manager and accordingly gave the prosecution one week to convince it on why it should not grant bail to Wilson.
The brief facts of the case were that Armstrong ordered the fuel additives and when the consignment arrived in Tema, the container containing the fuel additives was found to contain boxes of fuel additives, advertising T-shirts and four travelling bags which were later found to contain 125 slabs of cocaine.
She said a field test conducted by NACOB officials indicated that the substances tested positive for cocaine.
Mrs Keelson said the drugs had been forwarded to the Ghana Standards Board for analysis while investigations were ongoing.

Prosecution re-opens case in Ya-Na trial

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

BARELY three weeks after closing its case in the Ya-Na murder case, the prosecution has declared its intention to reopen the case.
According to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Gertrude Aikins, the state intended to call witnesses to lead additional evidence vital to the case.
She said she had filed an application to that effect but counsel for the accused persons, Mr Philip Addison, who was expected to make a submission of “no case” yesterday, said the prosecution had not provided enough grounds upon which they intended to re-open the case.
A Chief State Attorney, Mr Rexford Wiredu, had on November 5, 2010 closed the case for the prosecution to which Mr Atta Akyea, one of the lawyers for 15 persons accused of murdering the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, declared the defence team’s intention to make a submission of no case.
After the DPP’s announcement, which came as a surprise to the defence team, the presiding judge, Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi, an Appeal Court judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, directed the prosecution, the defence team and the court with enough grounds upon which it intended to re-open the case.
The case was accordingly adjourned to Monday, November 29, 2010.
Twelve witnesses have so far testified for the prosecution.
The accused persons are Iddrisu Iddi, alias Mbadugu; Alhaji Baba Abdulai, alias Zohe; Kwame Alhassan, alias Achiri; Mohammed Abdulai, alias Samasama; Sayibu Mohammed; Alhassan Braima and Zakaria Yakubu, alias Zakaria Forest, who is currently on the run.
The rest are Mohammed Habib Tijani, the former District Chief Executive of Yendi; Baba Ibrahim, alias Baba Zey; Alhassan Mohammed, alias Mohammed Cheampon; Mohammed Mustapha; Shani Imoro; Yakubu Yusif, alias Leftee; Hammed Abukari Yussif and Abdul Razak Yussif, alias Nyaa Dagbani.
All the accused persons, except Zakaria Yakubu, have been charged with conspiracy to murder and have pleaded not guilty to the charge. Zakaria has been charged with murder.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

KOMBIAN FEVER • Stirs crowd at Circuit Court

Tuesday, November 23, 2010 (Lead Story)

A THICK crowd yesterday besieged the precincts of the Cocoa Affairs Courts demanding the blood of Johnson Kombian, alias Nakpanduri Terror, for allegedly killing two cops, one of whom was buried over the weekend.
The 35-year-old two-time jail breaker, who was overpowered in Togo by Togolese security forces, was accosted by the angry crowd while he was being escorted from the circuit court.
But the for the presence of heavily armed policemen who escorted Kombian out of the courtroom into a waiting vehicle, the crowd would have lynched the notorious cop killer.
The incensed crowd, which spoke mostly Akan, wondered why the Togolese authorities did not end the life of Kombian, whom they described as a “wicked killer”.
The crowd used their cellular phones to take pictures of Kombian, who was shoved into a waiting pick-up by armed policemen.
Kombian, who appeared to be in pain apparently from head and bodily injuries he suffered at the hands of his captives, moaned and groaned while in the courtroom and outside of it.
His groans, however, incensed the crowd the more.
Kombian squeezed his eyes shut when he observed the media and the public were taking pictures of him, while at a point, he appeared to be smiling.
He has been charged with one count of escaping from lawful custody. His plea was not taken.
While in the dock, Kombian, who was bare-chested, was assisted by security officers to wear a shirt amidst groans.
A Chief State Attorney, Mr Rexford Owiredu, told the court that the accused person escaped from the Tamale Central Prisons in January, 2010, while serving a five-year sentence imposed on him by a court.
Narrating the facts of the case, the prosecutor said Kombian stole a tape recorder and was kept at the Gambaga Prisons but he managed to escape.
According to the prosecution, Kombian was re-arrested and kept in the Tamale Central Prisons but he escaped again after paying a GH¢4,000 bribe to a prison officer known as Frafra.
The prosecution stated that the accused person went to Nigeria and later went to Togo to set up a business until his arrest last Friday.
The Chief State Attorney, therefore, prayed the court to remand the accused to prevent him from escaping again.
His lawyer, Mr George Asamaney, said his client’s health was in danger and for that reason the court should order that he should be given medical care.
He also prayed the court to advise the media to desist from commenting on the substance of the case.
The presiding judge, Mr Kyei Baffour, said the court had its limit in ensuring that it did not gag the media, especially in matters bordering on national interest.
He said he believed the media knew their limits and further advised that the accused person be given the needed medical attention.
Mr Wiredu said the accused person was currently receiving treatment at the Police Hospital.
Kombian is also being investigated for a number of robberies and murders.
He is alleged to have murdered a number of his robbery victims during his brutal operations at Nakpanduri.
His latest murder victims were the two policemen, Constables Prince Agyare and Owusu Frimpong, whom he killed in a gun raid he launched against the police.
The third victim in the gun raid is still receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.
Constable Agyare was buried at his hometown, near Koforidua in the Eastern Region, on Saturday, a day after Kombian’s arrest.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

$29.9 m "COKE' IN FLAMES

Thursday, November 18, 2010 (Lead Story)

FOUR-HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN kilogrammes of cocaine with a street value of $29.9 million was yesterday set ablaze on the orders of the Accra Fast-Track High Court.
The destruction, which took place behind the Independence Square, close to the sea, was witnessed by the media and officials from the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), the Attorney-General’s Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), security agencies and the court, including the registrar of the Fast-Track High Court.
Huge travelling bags containing the 380 slabs of the stuff seized at Ataabadze Junction in June, 2008, were covered with lorry tyres before a security official poured a considerable quantity of fuel on them and set them ablaze about 2 p.m. to destroy them.
The drugs were completely reduced to ashes within 35 minutes.
Scores of armed policemen were present to ensure law and order during the destruction of the drugs, which were taken from the courtroom and put in a police van after they had been tendered in evidence as exhibits by the investigator in charge of the case.
A large number of youth who abandoned their swimming and passers-by witnessed the destruction.
Giving orders for the destruction of the drugs, the presiding judge, Mr Justice C. J. Hoenyenuga, intermittently described the drugs as “evil things”.
He also directed that the keys to a Toyota 4Runner with registration number GR 1204 Y and a Toyota Corolla saloon car with registration number GW 31 Z, which were in the possession of the alleged owners of the drugs, should be handed over to the registrar of the court until the final determination of the case.
The court ordered the destruction of the narcotic drugs after officials of the Ghana Standard Board (GSB) had conducted a test and confirmed they tested positive for cocaine.
Meanwhile, one of the four accused persons who was standing trial for conspiracy and possession of narcotic drugs without lawful authority has pleaded guilty to the offence.
Samuel Agoe Mills Robertson, a 49-year-old auto mechanic who was the driver of the vehicle which was carrying the drugs, was accordingly sentenced to 15 years in jail with hard labour in June, 2010.
The three others, who are currently standing trial, are Owiredu Agyemfra, alias Chuku Owura, a 32-year-old herbalist; Derrick Kwarteng, a 51-year-old contractor and Charles Lartey, 35.
Charles, who was alleged to have appeared at the scene after the arrest of the other accused persons, is on a GH¢50,000 bail with a surety while Kwarteng and Agyemfra are on remand.
At the court’s sitting in Accra yesterday, the investigator in charge of the case, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Bernard Baba Ananga, was led by a Chief State Attorney, Ms Valerie O. Amate, to tender in evidence the cartons of cocaine.
The courtroom was filled with the strong scent of the drug after the cartons were opened to prove to the court they had not been tampered with.
The scent was so strong that an official of the GSB, who had arrived in court to witness the destruction of the drugs, attempted to walk out of the courtroom. He was, however, stopped by the Chief State Attorney.
His near walkout prompted the trial judge to adjourn proceedings in the case to December 6, 2010 to enable the destruction to take place.
Robertson and the three others who were arrested in connection with the haul were initially put before an Accra circuit court.
The facts of the case are that on June 28, 2008, Kwarteng contracted Robertson to cart cocaine from Asankragua in the Western Region to Accra for a fee of $40,000 and he agreed.
The prosecution said Robertson, therefore, recruited Agyemfra and Mike Eben, as escorts.
On that same day, Robertson used his Toyota saloon car with registration number GW 31 Z and conveyed Agyemfra and Eben to Asankragua where they met Kwarteng at a hotel.
Kwarteng also handed over a four-wheel drive with registration number GR 1204 Y, loaded with 19 travelling bags with each of them containing 20 slabs, totalling 380 slabs of cocaine, to Robertson and his escorts.
Robertson drove the vehicle carrying the consignment with Agyemfra and Eben on board as security to Takoradi, where they stayed overnight.
According to the prosecution, on the day of the arrest, the Cape Coast Highway police patrol team from the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit intercepted the vehicle, which had on board it Robertson, Kwarteng and Agyemfra.
However, Agyemfra and Eben escaped into the bush but the police managed to arrest Agyemfra.
When a search was conducted on the vehicle, 19 travelling bags, each containing 20 slabs of whitish powdery substance suspected to be cocaine, were found.
The prosecution said during police interrogation, Robertson offered the Police $6,000 in exchange of his freedom.
He, therefore, called Lartey who was in Accra to bring the amount but as soon as Lartey arrived, the police arrested him too.

Three jailed 60 years for robbery

November 17, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Circuit Court has sentenced three persons to a total of 60 years’ imprisonment with hard labour for conspiracy and robbery.
The convicts, Salifu Masawudu, an architect, Kwaku Ahiahonu, a mason, and Agbogbah Althanazius Bismark Kwame, a computer analyst, were convicted after the court found them guilty on two counts of robbery and conspiracy.
They were sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on each count, but the sentences would run concurrently.
Salifu, 21, Kwaku, 24 and Kwame, 23 and two others, who are on the run, committed the offence about 6:30 p.m. on December 18, 2008 when they forcibly entered the premises of SIDALCO Company Limited on the Spintex Road in Accra.
In the process, they fired warning shots and ordered the complainant, his friend and workers to lie prostrate while they ransacked the office.
Consequently, the convicts made away with GH¢50,000, $20,000, two laptops worth GH¢3,000, 32 cellular phones worth GH¢3,200 and a gold ring valued at $50,000.
The convicts also took away cash of GH¢4,700 and three cellular phones belonging to the complainant’s friend, the Head Pastor of the Ashaiman branch of the Action Faith Ministry, who was in the office of the complainant during the incident.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges, but the court, presided over by Mr Justice C. A. Wilson, a High Court judge with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court judge, stated that the prosecution was able to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Mr Justice Wilson held that the action of the convicts was violent, callous and premeditated.
He said the prosecution also proved that the three convicts actively participated in the offence, adding that “there is a high rate of robbery in the country and in my view there is justifiable reason to impose a severe sentence, which will serve as a deterrent”.
After the conviction, Salifu wept bitterly in open court and blamed the other accused persons for his fate.
The facts of the case were that on December 18, 2008, the Pastor had visited the Managing Director of SIDALCO Limited, when the convicts and two others attacked them and robbed them in the process.
The two friends reported the incident to the East Legon Police after the incident and during investigations Kwame was arrested. He led the police to the house of Kwaku, who turned out to be residing directly opposite the complainant’s company premises.

Prosecution asks for more time

November 16, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE prosecution in the case involving Amina Mohammed, the woman at the centre of the highway rape and robbery story, yesterday indicated that it needed ample time to start its case, particularly when witnesses in the case were scattered all over the country.
A State Attorney, Mr Paul Assibi Abariga, told the court that the case would be started at an opportune time, with the explanation that the prosecution needed to put all pieces of evidence together before starting its case.
“Justice delayed is justice denied and justice hurried is justice buried,” Mr Abariga stated and accordingly prayed the court to grant his request for an adjournment.
However, the trial judge, Mrs Patience Mills-Tetteh, indicated her resolve to dispose of the case by December 20, 2010.
Consequently, she adjourned the case to November 22 and 23, 2010 for definite hearing.
“I do not want the case to go beyond December 20, 2010. I would not entertain the case after December 20, 2010,” Mr Mills-Tetteh stated and added that the case would be heard on a daily basis.
Mr Abariga, who was absent together with the investigator when the case was called around 8:40 a.m. at the circuit court in Accra last week, explained why he was absent.
He informed the court that on that day in question, he arrived in the courtroom at 8:50 a.m. but was informed the case had already been called and accordingly adjourned.
However, counsel for the accused person, Mr Andy Appiah-Kubi, raised concern about Mr Abariga’s submissions that he (Abariga) showed up in court after the matter had been adjourned on November 9, 2010.
According to Mr Appiah-Kubi, Mr Abariga sought to practise “ambush litigation” when he appeared before the court well after the case had been adjourned and a new date fixed for hearing.
Mr Abariga objected to Mr Appiah-Kubi’s line of argument and explained that he had, on that particular day, prayed the court to hear him but the court declined.
He also argued that the defence team would have prayed the court to stand the case down to enable the prosecution to appear if the accused person was in custody.
Mrs Mills-Tetteh also explained that Mr Abariga indeed appeared before her in open court on that day in question but she did not record him.
Amina was present in court and, as usual, covered her face to avoid the cameras when she left the courtroom.
The accused person has pleaded not guilty to two counts of publishing false news with intent to cause fear and panic and deceit of public officer.
The court on November 2, 2010 refused bail for Amina and remanded her till November 9, 2010, but her lawyers managed to secure bail for her at the Human Rights Court on Friday, November 5, 2010.
She was granted bail in the sum of GH¢5,000 with a surety by the court presided over by Mr Justice Paul U. Dery.
The brief facts of the case were that the accused person granted interviews to radio stations on October 26, 2010 and stated among other things that she was among passengers on a bus which was attacked by armed robbers when they reached Kintampo and that in the process the robbers ordered a mass rape of female occupants.
She was also quoted as saying a father was ordered to rape his 14-year-old daughter.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that such incident did not occur and said the driver of the said bus reported a case to the Ejisu Police and stated in his statement that his bus was nearly attacked by robbers at Kubease but he managed to escape with the destruction of his vehicle's windscreen due to gunshots.
The prosecution further stated that the driver of the bus drove off 30 minutes after reporting the incident, which occurred at about 10 p.m. on October 11, 2010.

Monday, November 15, 2010

POTAG WINS ROUND 1 • NLC ordered to appoint mediator

Saturday, November 13, 2010 (Lead Story)

THE Fast Track High Court has given the National Labour Commission (NLC) a seven-day ultimatum, effective yesterday, to appoint a mediator to settle disputes between the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The Labour and Industrial Division of the Fast Track High Court in Accra gave the order yesterday after it had dismissed a suit filed by the NLC which had prayed the court to order members of POTAG to end their strike.
The NLC had also prayed the court to order POTAG to submit itself to compulsory arbitration with the FWSC but the court declined to grant that offer as well.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Kwabena Asuman-Adu, however, appealed to the polytechnic teachers “to, in the interest of students and Mother Ghana, call off the strike”.
Members of the association, who have been on strike for the past four weeks, thronged the court premises to listen to the decision. They applauded immediately the court threw out the suit.
The POTAG leadership expressed its intention to convene an emergency meeting to decide the next line of action.
According to the court, the NLC failed to adhere to processes set out in the Labour Act for the settlement of disputes.
For instance, it held that records available clearly indicated that the NLC did not follow the right procedure before referring POTAG and the FWSC to engage in compulsory arbitration.
The court held that the Labour Act stipulated that feuding parties must first enter into mediation and when that failed, they were then required to enter into arbitration.
It said it was only when the arbitration failed that the NLC could go ahead and order parties to enter into compulsory or voluntary arbitration and not compulsory/voluntary arbitration as the NLC had sought to make the court believe.
Mr Justice Asuman-Adu said he had carefully read the Labour Act and nowhere did it state that parties could enter compulsory/voluntary arbitration.
“The Labour Act makes mention of either compulsory or voluntary arbitration and not compulsory/voluntary arbitration,” the judge held, pointing out that the NLC’s decision directing POTAG and the FWSC to enter into compulsory/voluntary arbitration was ambiguous.
“The court is in a fix as to the specific order the NLC wants the court to address. The NLC was not clear in citing the act. How can the court order anything?” Mr Justice Asuman-Adu queried.
The presiding judge further argued that the court found it difficult to enforce the NLC’s application because the issue had not got to that stage to warrant the court to order compulsory arbitration.
According to the court, from the records, it could be said that the NLC did not exhaust all procedures under the Labour Act, adding that records available also indicated that the NLC did not arrive at any specific decision to warrant the court to sanction its decision for compulsory arbitration.
He said POTAG had, throughout its correspondence with the NLC, clearly indicated its willingness and readiness to negotiate for a review of its conditions of service which had expired since 2006, while the FWSC had, from the court records, proved it was not in a position to negotiate with POTAG.
It further held that due to the NLC’s failure to follow due processes stipulated under the Labour Act in resolving disputes, it was premature for it to direct compulsory arbitration between POTAG and the FWSC and, worst of all, pray the court to enforce its directive which, according to the court, did not exist in the first place.
It said it was also not fair for the NLC to pray the court to direct POTAG to go into compulsory arbitration with the FWSC when it was evident that the FWSC was the unwilling party.
It, therefore, directed the NLC to adopt a proper procedure acceptable to both parties.
No costs were awarded.
Reacting to the court’s ruling, counsel for POTAG, Mr Sampson Obeng, described it as “excellent” and expressed his client’s willingness and readiness to negotiate with the FWSC.
“Once they are willing to negotiate, we will call off the strike. The court is there to enforce the law and not to do anybody’s bidding,” he pointed out.
Mr Obeng gave the assurance that his client was responsible and would comply with the court’s ruling if the FWSC opened its doors for POTAG.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Two prison officers granted bail

November 12, 2010 (Page 19)

TWO prison officers alleged to have aided and facilitated the escape of one of the alleged killers of a Lighthouse Chapel International pastor have been arraigned before the Greater Accra Regional Tribunal.
The two, Assistant Chief Officer Godfred Asah, 52, and Cpl Nana Appiah-Kubi, 37, were alleged to have aided Yaw Asamoah to escape from a court in Accra on October 27, 2010.
They have pleaded not guilty to one count of aiding the escape of Yaw Asamoah and have been granted bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with two sureties to reappear on November 16, 2010.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice P. K. Aggrey, said he took into account the submissions for bail by counsel for the accused persons, Mr Alexander Abban, before granting bail.
Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr E. Y. Frimpong, informed the court that the accused persons were prison officers stationed at Nsawam Medium Security Prisons.
On October 27, 2010, Yaw Asamoah, who was serving a 20-year sentence for robbery, was under the escort of the two accused persons to be taken to the Accra High Court No. 7.
The court was on that day expected to deliver judgement in a robbery and rape case against Asamoah.
The prosecution said the prison officers arrived at the courtroom around 8:00 am with Asamoah when the court was not in session.
According to the prosecution, the accused persons removed the handcuffs from the wrists of the convict and left him without a guard to engage in mobile phone calls.
The prosecution said Asamoah took advantage of the prison officers’ unprofessional posture and took to his heels.
Information about the escape of the convict subsequently reached the Accra Regional Police Command, prompting the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ms Rose Atinga Bio, and a team of officers to visit the scene.
On the spot investigation confirmed the escape of the convict while further investigation resulted in prison authorities handing over the accused persons to the police for prosecution.

SCRAMBLE FOR HAJJ CASH •10 claim accounts • IBG disagrees

Friday, November 12, 2010 (Lead Story)

THERE was a new twist to the suit brought against the National Hajj Committee (NHC) yesterday, as 10 individuals claimed ownership of the accounts of the NHC, contrary to evidence adduced by an official of the Intercontinental Bank Ghana (IBG).
When proceedings began at the Fast Track High Court, counsel for the claimants, who are mostly members of the current Hajj Committee, applied to withdraw a notice filed on October 29, 2010, which had described the NHC as the owner of the accounts and replace it with a new document.
Ms Barbara Serwaa Asamoah’s notice was filed barely 24 hours after the court had dismissed an application from the NHC that prayed it to set aside an order freezing the accounts of the Committee.
The application followed the Hajj Committee’s indebtedness of GH¢214,000 to a former member of the Committee.
The new notice mentioned the new claimants to the two accounts, which contain GH¢1,752,948.48 and $238,028.80, as Inusah Fuseini, Amadu Sorogho, Babalamie Abu Sadat, Alhassan Benneh, Sheikh Yahaya Amin, Alhaji Yusuf Captain, Alhaji Mahama Fuseini, Hajia Laadi Ayi Ayamba, Hajia Afusat Iyabor and Hajj Mohammed Addo.
The numbers for the cedi and dollar accounts are 1051 870 0907 and 1052 5200 8336 respectively.
However, the head of Personal and Enterprises Banking at the IBG, Albert Papa Kofi Ackun, mounted the witness box and informed the court on oath that records at the bank indicated that the NHC was the owner of the account being claimed by the 10 individuals.
Mr Ackun, who appeared on behalf of the bank upon a court order, said the cedi and dollar accounts, which fell under enterprises and not personal accounts, had Alhaji Alhassan Benneh, the current chairman of the NHC, and Hajj Ahmed Iddris as signatories.
The witness tendered in bank documents in evidence as exhibits to authenticate his evidence.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice S. K. Asiedu, refused the application for withdrawal and rather directed Ms Asamoah to add the new notice to the records to enable the court to arrive at the truth.
Before the court’s ruling, counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Yonny Kulendi, objected to the withdrawal of the October 29, 2010 notice on grounds that it was procedurally wrong and he, therefore, prayed the court to allow both notices to stand in the court’s record books to enable the court to examine the conduct of what he described as “so-called claimants of the accounts”.
Mr Kulendi said a group of people were using all names and aliases to avoid a legitimate debt and for that reason the court should not allow itself to be disabled and abused.
Counsel was displeased with persons creating the impression in the media that the court was sabotaging the Hajj pilgrimage, when, according to him, that was far from the truth. He advised persons who had resorted to media trial to check the facts before passing judgement.
The trial judge should have ruled on whether or not to order the bank to pay the plaintiff, but decided to hold on with his ruling to enable parties in the case to respond to the application describing the 10 individuals as claimants to the account.
Mr Justice Asiedu said it was important for the court to allow the court processes to be completed in order to arrive at the bottom of the matter to unveil the truth, which, he said, was only one.
The trial judge, therefore, directed Mr Kulendi to file his response to the latest claim to enable the registrar to serve the other parties in the case. A new date will be fixed by the registrar after parties in the case have filed their responses.
In the substantive matter, the plaintiff, Afaa Akeem, loaned the money to the committee, which was paid directly to Egypt Air on November 22, 2008 in order to avoid the cancellation of the flight, which had been chartered to carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia but the Committee failed to pay back the money.
After persistent calls on the Committee to pay back his money had failed, he issued a writ at the Fast Track High Court on November 11, 2009 and got default judgement in his favour on January 28, 2010 after the Committee had failed to file its defence.
Following the court’s judgement in favour of the plaintiff and further issuance of a garnishee order, which was directed at the bankers of the Hajj Committee, an affidavit was filed by the Committee praying the court to set aside the plaintiff’s application for a garnishee order on the grounds that the current Committee did not have anything to do with the 2008 IHMC committee.
However, counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Yonny Kulendi, advanced arguments to prove that the current Committee had taken over the offices of the IHMC, as well as its assets and had even gone on to pay some debts owed by the 2008 IHMC.
Dismissing the application, the court held that the application filed by the Committee was without merit and was frivolous and incompetent and awarded costs of GH¢1,000 against Awudu Ariff Abubakar, who swore the affidavit praying the court to set aside its garnishee order.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Pregnant cocaine suspect granted bail

Thursday, November 11, 2010 (Page 51)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court has granted bail to a pregnant suspect among four persons accused of importing cocaine.
Kyerewaa Twum Barima, who is six months pregnant according to medical records was granted bail in the sum of GH¢80,000 with two sureties, one to be justified.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Mustapha Habib Logo, also directed that the sureties must be residents of either Accra or Tema.
It, however, remanded her alleged accomplices namely Benjamin Armstrong, Anthony Wilson and Edward Kojo Arhin, to reappear on November 23, 2010.
Benjamin and Anthony are managing director and deputy managing director respectively of Pharma+, importers of derivatives for petroleum products which later turned out to contain cocaine while Edward and Kyerewaa are clearing agents at Tema.
The prosecution did not object to the grant of bail to Kyerewaa on the grounds that the law did not allow a pregnant woman to be put in custody.
Family members and sympathisers of the accused persons exclaimed when the court ordered the detention of Benjamin, Anthony and Edward. Some looked visibly shocked and grief stricken when the accused persons were whisked away from the courtroom.
Others were consoled by defence lawyers who gave them assurance that all legal means would be exhausted to give their detained family members freedom.
Kyerewaa has been charged together with the three others on two counts of conspiracy and importation of narcotic drugs without licence from the Minister of Health.
Earlier, a Principal State Attorney, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, prayed the court to remand the accused persons because investigations were ongoing.
She also said that she had been served with bail application from counsel for Kyerewaa and Edward and further indicated that the suspected narcotic substances had been forwarded to the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) for analysis.
According to Mrs Keelson, investigations were ongoing in Panama, Los Angeles and Ghana to arrive at the truth of the matter.
However, counsel for Benjamin and Anthony wondered why his clients should be kept in custody while the consignee and shipping line which had control over the goods should be left off the hook.
According to Mr Joe Aboagye Debrah, the state was too scared to bring to book Maersk Shipping Line and Consolidated Shipping, the shippers and consignees of the goods.
He said the state was not being candid with the court because the bill of laden and other documents clearly indicated that the consignee and shipping line were responsible for the handling and delivery of the goods.
Counsel argued that the accused persons were arrested on October 18, 2010 and placed in detention which he described as unlawful on the grounds that the accused persons were kept beyond 48 hours before being put before court.
He further argued that the state was aware that the container holding the goods was tampered with at Panama adding that the court should, therefore, waive the state’s detention of the accused persons.
“The continuous detention of the accused persons is a continuing illegality. The court should not sanction such illegality,” Mr Debrah emphasised.
Counsel for Kyerewaa and Edward, Mr James Agalga associated himself with Mr Debrah’s submissions and re-echoed the need for the court to grant his clients bail.

Court throws out Hajj Committee’s application

Thursday, November 11, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday dismissed an application from the National Hajj Committee (NHC) that prayed the court to set aside an order freezing the accounts of the Committee.
The application followed the Hajj Committee’s indebtedness of GH¢214,000 to a former member of the committee.
The plaintiff, Afaa Akeem, loaned the money to the Committee, which was paid directly to Egypt Air on November 22, 2008 in order to avoid the cancellation of the flight which had been chartered to carry pilgrims to Saudi Arabia but the Committee failed to pay back the money.
After persistent calls on the Committee to pay back his money had failed, he issued a writ at the Fast Track High Court on November 11, 2009 and got default judgement in his favour on January 28, 2010 after the Committee had failed to file its defence.
Following the court’s judgement in favour of the plaintiff and further issuance of a garnishee order, which was directed at the bankers of the Hajj Committee, the Committee, through Awudu Ariff Abubakar, filed an affidavit praying the court to set aside the plaintiff’s application for a garnishee order on the grounds that the current Committee did not have anything to do with the 2008 IHMC committee.
However, counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Yonny Kulendi, advanced arguments to prove that the current Committee had taken over the offices of the IHMC, as well as its assets and had even gone on to pay some debts owed by the 2008 IHMC.
Dismissing the application, the court held that the application filed by the Committee was without merit and was frivolous and incompetent.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice S. K. A. Asiedu, awarded costs of GH¢1,000 against Awudu Ariff Abubakar, who swore the affidavit praying the court to set aside its garnishee order.
The court would sit today to consider the plaintiff’s application for a garnishee order.
Abubakar had sworn an affidavit on behalf of the Committee and deposed that the current Hajj Committee was an unregistered body tasked by potential pilgrims to organise this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca.
It said the current Committee, among others, did not know the IHMC that borrowed the plaintiff’s money.
However, counsel for the plaintiff, in reply, argued that the Hajj Committee was not formed by potential pilgrims but by the National Chief Imam in consultation with a council of Muslim elders and chiefs, as well as the government.
Mr Kulendi contended that all other groups in the past were constituted by the Chief Imam and the other parties mentioned earlier.
He said the NHC had been variously described in the past, adding that the current Committee was a successor to the 2008 Interim Hajj Management Committee (IHMC).
Counsel further argued that the NHC thus assumed the authority and functions of the 2008 IHMC and took over all its assets, liabilities and privileges.
For instance, he said the current Committee took over the office premises of IHMC at Kanda allocated to the IHMC by the government, as well as assets such as office equipment, a Nissan Amada four-wheel drive, which was bought by the IHMC and currently being used by officials of the Hajj Committee in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mr Kulendi submitted that some of the old members of the 2008 IHMC were currently serving on the current Hajj Committee and stated, for instance, that the National Chief Imam reappointed Alhaji Osman English Kadri to serve on his behalf on the current Hajj Committee, while Sheikh Yahaya Amin was appointed as representative of a member of the Board of Trustees of the 2008 IHMC.
The plaintiff also contended that some of the debts such as debt owed to Sama Airline had already been paid by the current Hajj Committee.
The plaintiff also produced newspaper publication which proved that the National Chief Imam formed all Hajj Committees in consultation with other groups.
He contended that the Financial Report of 2008 IHMC also proved that the Committee owed the plaintiff.
He also produced documents to prove that the plaintiff’s demand notice was received and signed for on behalf of the current Chairman of the Hajj Committee by his secretary.
The plaintiff also swore an affidavit to the effect that he personally had meetings with the National Chief Imam and the Vice President, both of whom commended him for his patience and assured him that the money owed him would be paid but to no avail.
Counsel further contended that his client personally went to the current Chairman, Alhaji Benneh, to demand his money but the latter told him the Chief of Staff had paid debts owed by the Hajj Committee and there was no way he (Alhaji Benneh) could go back and demand additional payment of debts.
Plaintiff further contended that Alhaji Benneh advised him to take any action to recover his money, adding that that statement was what compelled him to go to court.
Plaintiff contended that the Committee failed to file an appeal and rather filed an affidavit praying the court to set aside the garnishee order on the grounds that the current Hajj Committee had nothing to do with the IHMC.
Counsel accordingly prayed the court to dismiss the Hajj Committee’s application, which the court obliged.