Legon students granted bail

0May 7, 2011 (Front Page)

NINE students of the Mensah Sarbah Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, who are alleged to have molested a suspected laptop thief, Amina Haruna, were yesterday granted bail by the Accra Circuit Court.
The nine — Francis Asiedu Arthur, Mark-Dickson Tornu, Morris Awuregya, Nana Osei Asiamah, Gideon Agyei Ayiridaga, Gabriel Amobila Aboyadana, Godfred Afeatse, Evans Addae Boateng and Obed Banini — were granted bail in the sum of GH¢9,000 each with no sureties.
They each pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiracy, assault by imprisonment, indecent assault and causing unlawful harm and are to reappear in court on May 30, 2011.
The students missed writing their mid-semester examination because they were in court at the time their mates were writing the examination.
Four of their accomplices — Edward Totor, Alexander Aryee, Benedict Boama Brohim and Jason Boama Amponsah — are currently on the run.
Scores of students from the university thronged the court premises to solidarise with the accused persons.
The sympathisers, mostly clad in dark T-shirts and jeans, chanted songs demanding the release of their colleagues.
The student leadership was also present in court and appealed to the sympathisers to remain calm.
Some students and family members of the accused could not hold back their tears, claiming that the accused were innocent or simply victims of circumstance.
Earlier, the prosecutor in charge of the case, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Kofi Blagodzi, presented the facts of the case and did not object to the granting of bail to the accused persons, who looked calm in the dock.
The court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, stated that the offences allegedly committed by the students were bailable and, accordingly, moved to grant them bail.
According to the facts of the case, the accused, who are all residents of the Annex B (Okponglo) of the Mensah Sarbah Hall of the university, were identified by the university authorities on a video tape.
They were first handed over to the Legon Police, who in turn conveyed them to the CID Headquarters for an identification parade.
Soon after the alleged molestation, the university authorities set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the incident.
The prosecution said the committee identified a number of students who were present during the molestation, as seen on the video clips produced, as well as credible eyewitness accounts.