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.

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