Four alleged kidnappers of Canadians to appear before new judge
A new Judge is to be assigned to commence hearing into the case of the alleged four Kidnappers of the two Canadians in Kumasi.
Mr Justice George Buadi who had presided over the matter indicated that his mandate would end in November this year, hence a new judge would be assigned to take over the matter.
Justice Baudi, however, said it would not be out of order for him to give directions in the matter hence directed the prosecution to disclose all documents including the charge sheet and facts and any other evidence they intended to rely.
According to the court, the disclosures should be made available to the defence counsels and the accused persons by November 14.
It adjourned the matter to November 21.
The four accused persons are Sampson Aghalor aka Romeo, a 27 year old computer engineer, Elvis Ojiyorwe, a 27 year old businessman, Jeff Omarsa a 28 year old Tiler, all Nigerians and Yusif Yakubu a Ghanaian resident in Kumasi.
They have denied the charged and the court has remanded them into lawful custody.
The four have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to wit kidnapping and Kidnapping.
Four other suspects have been discharged by the court following Attorney General‘s submissions that upon further investigation and review of the case docket it has decided to discontinue the prosecution of Seidu Abubakar aka Mba, Abdul Nasir, Safiano Abubar and Abdul Rahman Suliemana aka Wofa.
At today’s sitting, Aghalor who was represented by Mr Yaw Dankwah, prayed the court to order the Police to release his cash in the sum of GH¢890.00 to Aghalor, so he could feed himself and prepare to defend himself.
According to Mr Dankwah, Aghalor said he has been given only GH¢250 out of the total amount seized by the Police.
Mr Dankwah further prayed the court to clarify where the accused persons should be remanded, because at the last sitting when the court ordered that they should be sent to the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons, he was informed that the accused persons names were not in the Prison’s system hence could not have conference with them.
He, therefore, prayed the court to clarify where the accused should be kept so he could meet them and have conference with them.
Ms Winifred Sarpong, a Senior State Attorney, explained that if the accused persons did not have a trial warrant, then the Police would have to go to Nsawam prisons to bring them to court.
However, Ms Sarpong said, if the accused persons had their trial warrant then the Prison authorities would produce them in court.
The four accused person were nabbed in connection with the kidnapping of two Canadians namely Ms Lauren Tilley and Ms Bailey Chitty who were in Ghana for voluntary work but were residing in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.
The Canadians were kidnapped after they had left a restaurant to their apartment at Ridge in Kumasi. The kidnappers held them amidst shooting and they eventually hid them in an uncompleted building at Amoam-Achiase in the Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region.
Source: GNA