12 Legon Students Discharged

July 11, 2012 (Centre Spread) Twelve students of the University of Ghana (UG), who were accused of sexually assaulting an alleged female thief on campus have been discharged by the Accra Circuit Court for want of prosecution. The students and pockets of family members and friends, who were present in court Tuesday, exited the courtroom visibly excited. The students who had been charged on three counts of conspiracy to commit crime, assault and causing unlawful harm were discharged by an Accra Circuit court. They wereFrancis Wiredu Attah, Tornu Mark Dickson, Morris Awuregya, Nana Osei Asiamah, Gideon Agyei Ayiridaga, Gabriel Aboyadana Amobila, Godfred Afeatse, Evans Addai Boateng and Obed Banini, Alexander Aryee, Benedicta Boamah Brohen and Jason Bomah Amponsah. Counsel for the students, Mr. Rockson Defiamekpor, prayed the court at its sitting in Accra Tuesday to grant his clients their freedom because according to him, the case had been pending in the court for the past 16 months and the prosecution had not shown any indication of prosecuting it. The presiding judge, Ms Sedinam Agbemava, subsequently discharged the students and indicated that the prosecution reserved the right to re-arrest and prosecute the students anytime. The prosecutor in the case, Mr. Kofi Blagodzi, who arrived in court after the students had been set free informed the court that the docket on the case had been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s office for advice. According to him his outfit was yet to receive the advice from the A-G’s office but the court stated that the prosecution was at liberty to re-arrest the students when it was ready to prosecute them. The facts of the case were that early last year some students of the university were captured on video manhandling a lady they accused of stealing a laptop and a mobile phone. They allegedly stripped her naked and inserted their fingers into her private parts as she tried in vain to stop the assault. The lady named only as Amina was rescued by one security officer at the university.