Ghana court discharges alleged Ivory Coast coup plotters

The two alleged Ivorian coup plotters and their Ghanaian counterpart were on Wednesday discharged by a Circuit Court in Cape Coast presided over by Mrs. Florence Kai Out after the prosecution had withdrawn the charges preferred against them.

Superintendent of Police Benjamin Osei Addai had earlier prayed the court to formally withdraw the case from court since it had assumed an inter-state dimension.

He told the court that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Police Headquarters in Accra would handle it at the national level.

They are Dake Zebee Bless Eime, a 27-year-old Ivorian security man,  Zere Tape Jean Claude, a 40-year-old Ivorian farmer and Nana Amissah Imbrah, a 73-year-old Ghanaian.

The three were arrested by the Central Regional Police Command about two weeks ago for illegally procuring arms and ammunitions in Ghana to topple the government in Cote d’Ivoire.

Their charges were abetment of crime, conspiracy to commit crime, attempt to commit criminal offence and preparation for committing certain criminal offences.

Mr Bondzie Simpson, Counsel for Imbrah, described the prosecution’s request as late and inappropriate since it had not followed the right procedure, asking the court to dismiss it and continue with the case.

Mrs. Kai Otu said the procedure used by the prosecution was applicable to her court and therefore granted the application and withdrew the charges and discharged them.

Plain clothed police personnel who were however waiting at the court premises rearrested the three men and took them to the CID Headquarters in Accra.

Source: GNA