Eight before court for the alleged 2002 murder of Dagbon King
Eight persons who were picked up in last Saturday’s dawn swoop at Yendi in connection with the alleged murder of late Dagbon King, Ya Na Yakubu Andani II and some of his elders in 2002, on Monday appeared before the Adjabeng District Magistrate’s Court in Accra.
They are Iddrisu Iddi 76, Alhaji Baba Iddrisu Abdalla 54, Kwame Alhaasan 53, Mohammed Kojo 45, Mohammadu Abdulai 57, Saibu Mohammed 34, Yakubu Mohammed 42, and Alhasaan Briamah 40.
Yidana Sugri, 42, jointly charged with Iddrisu Janfo for conspiracy and murdering the Ya Na but was acquitted and discharged by an Accra Fast Track High Court in 2003, is now being held for allegedly training people for a military exercise.
The accused persons were not charged but escorted under heavy security guard.
The court presided over by Mrs. Patricia Quansah did not take their plea but remanded them into Police custody pending further investigations into the matter.
It ordered the Police to provide Iddi the best medical care because he is diagnosed to be diabetic and looked frail.
They would re-appear on Wednesday, May 5.
Earlier, Ms Gertrude Aikins, Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) prayed the court to remand the accused persons in order not to interfere with Police investigations.
She said the accused persons were arrested last Saturday and as stipulated in the 1992 Constitution should not be detained in police cells for more than 48 hours without appearing in court.
Ms Aikins contended that if the accused persons were released, they would heighten tension in Yendi and its environs.
Mr. Attah Akyea, leading counsel for the accused persons contended that the DPP had not shown how the accused persons would interfere with investigations.
He was of the view that, the State without any concrete “prima facie” case had not proved that the accused persons were mightier than the national security and could interfere with investigations.
Mr Akyea said the State had nothing to investigate and urged the court not to listen to the emotive facts it provided.
In a special appeal, he prayed the court to consider the plight of Iddi who needed special medical attention.
It would be recalled that in March 2002, Ya Na Yakubu Andani II, and some of his elders were killed following a clash between the two royal gates in Dagbon, Abudus and Andanis.
After the clash, Janfo and Sugri were arrested and put before an Accra Fast Track High Court for the alleged murder of the Ya Na and his elders, but were acquitted and charged.
In a fresh attempt by government and security agencies to find the murderers of the late Ya Na in a dawn swoop rounded up 41 persons at Yendi.
After screening them in Bimbilla, 33 were granted self recognisance bail, while the rest were escorted to Accra and put before the court.
Sympathisers of the accused persons who thronged the court premises chanted war songs in solidarity.
Source: GNA