NCA trial – Defence withdraws application at the Supreme Court
Counsel for Mathew Tetteh Tevie, the second accused person in the case involving Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie and four others, has withdrawn an application before the Supreme Court seeking to quash a decision of the trial judge.
Mr Godwin Tamakloe, the Counsel for Tetteh Tevie, was praying the Supreme Court to quash a decision of the High Court that asked the accused to open his defence, ahead of the first accused person in the case [Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie], pending the expiration of a seven day moratorium that accrued to the first accused person, after the High Court dismissed his application for stay of proceedings to open his defence.
It was the contention of the applicant that the decision of the High Court Judge ordering the second accused person to open his defence ahead of the first accused person was an abuse of the criminal procedures.
The application stated that the court erred by not allowing all the accused persons the seven days automatic stay granted the first accused person.
Mr Tamakloe, however, on Thursday withdrew the application after the court noted that there was no need to rule on the application because the seven-day moratorium itself had elapsed as at the date of the present hearing.
The five-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Sule Gbadegbe, declared the application struck out as withdrawn.
The accused persons per the happenings at the Supreme Court would have to go back to the High Court to open their defence forthwith.
Eugene Baffoe Bonnie, the former Board Chairman of the National Communications Authority (NCA), Matthew William Tetteh Tevie, the former Director-General, NCA, Nana Owusu Ensaw, a former board member, Alhaji Osman Mimina, former Deputy National Security Coordinator and George Derick Oppong, Managing Director of Infraclock Limited (IDL), are before the High Court, charged with willfully causing financial loss to the State.
Other charges include conspiracy, using public office for profit; stealing, money laundering and intentionally misapplying public property.
They are in court over the purchase of a Pegasus machine at a cost of $8 million, which could not function.
The accused persons have denied the charges and are currently on bail.
Source: GNA