Court orders Ghanaian cop to appear before it for owing a kidnapping suspect

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A High Court in Accra has ordered an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to come and explain as to how the Ghana Police Service owed one of the suspects involved in the kidnapping of the two Canadian women.

The Senior Police officer whose name was given as ACP Balfuor Appenteng is said to be the supervisor of the case investigator Detective Inspector Mathew Anokye.

The order came after Jeff Omarsa told the court presided over by Mrs. Justice Georgina Mensah-Datsa that he has GH¢800.00 with the Police but they have only given him GH¢200.00 of his money.

Omarsa insisted in court that, it was the investigator who gave him the GH¢200.00 but he needed some of his money while in custody.

However the case investigator held that Omarsa has no money with the Police and on his chain of custody record he has Sampson Aghalor, aka Romeo, a Computer Science Engineer as the one whose money was with the Police.

However Omarsa a 20-year old Tiler wondered how the Police gave him GH¢200 earlier on if he had no money with the Police.

Aghalor, Omarsa are standing trial with Elvis Ojiyorwe, a 27 year old businessman and Yusif Yakubu for their involvement in the kidnapping of two Canadians in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

The Canadians: Ms Lauren Tilley and Ms Bailey Chitty were in the country for voluntary work when they were kidnapped.

The accused persons who have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to wit kidnapping and kidnapping have denied the offence and are currently on remand.

Mr. Yaw Dankwah, counsel for Aghalor earlier informed the court that the state has not furnished him with the disclosures and that he had made several attempts to get copies of it to no avail.

The case was then stood down for counsel to visit the Registry to obtain copies of the disclosures.

Mr. Dankwah on his return informed the court that he had secure copies of the disclosures.

The defence counsel said he was also concerned about the collection of the personal effects and monies from his client by the Police.

According to him, the case investigator had earlier on told him that his client had been given GHC250 and assured him that the rest of the money was safe and intact.

Counsel said in spite of this assurance the money was yet to reach his client saying there was no law in the practice of the Ghana Police Service which spells out that the Police should keep monies that had nothing to do with the matter.

He also expressed shock at the state’s prayer to the court indicating that they have more disclosures to make and were seeking an adjournment of the trial.

Mr Dankwah said on the further disclosures which were to be made, the state has not informed the court when these disclosures would be served on them, adding that the prosecution should not be allowed to play with the liberty of the accused persons.

He said “they should be able to tell us specific time that those disclosures would be ready”.

He therefore prayed the court to admit his client to bail to enable him to put up his defense in respect of the heinous charges preferred against him.

Ms Hilda Craig, a Senior State Attorney said they would not be able to tell the time and date when the further disclosures would be ready saying, “We can’t give specific time because the material we intend disclosing are within the purview of the Police Crime Laboratory and we cannot rush them.

We need to give them enough time to do the forensic investigations they are conducting. We hope by the next adjourned date the further disclosures would be ready,” Ms Craig said.

The Senior Attorney vehemently opposed to the grant of bail to the accused persons.

On the money issue, she said it was only Aghalor whose money (GH¢650) was with Police and same had been indicated in the Chain of Custody Record.

The court after listening to Prosecution and defense adjourned the matter to December 19.

The court said it would have to start with case management as the state continues with the provision of further disclosures.

It further directed Ojiyorwe and Omarsa to look for lawyers to defend them.

The two Canadians were kidnapped after they had left a restaurant to their apartment at Ridge in Kumasi. The kidnappers held them amidst shooting and eventually hid them in an uncompleted building at Amoam-Achiase in the Kawbre District of the Ashanti Region.

Source: GNA