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Destabilization plot: Forward docket to AG – Court orders prosecutors

A District Court in Accra has directed state prosecutors, in the case involving the nine people facing charges of treason, to forward the docket of their investigations to the Attorney General’s office before the next adjourned date.

The order follows a request by the prosecutors for the court to remand the suspects again because they were not done with their investigations.

The request by the state did not go down well with the defence counsels who questioned the duration which investigations had taken so far.

Addressing the issue, the magistrate, Eleanor Bans Botwe, who was also not happy with how long investigations had taken asked the prosecution to quicken the process for a bill of indictment to be presented to the court.

The case has been adjourned to the 20th of November 2019.

High Court denies accused persons bail

An Accra High Court earlier in the day dismissed a bail request from seven out of the nine accused persons facing trial for their alleged plot to topple the government.

According to the Judge, Justice George Buadi, none of the accused persons had been detained beyond two months and their arrest and detention are not arbitrary or unlawful.

He further added that the accused persons have the capacity to interfere with investigations if released.

The Judge cited an example of how Junior Officers managed to stage a coup in the country.

Lawyers of the accused persons filed the application praying the court for bail for them pending trial.

According to their lawyer, Victor Adawudu, investigations into the case have taken a while and believed that his clients, who had rejected allegations levelled against them, must be released to have their freedom while the investigations and trial take place.

The prosecution on their part objected to the application arguing that their release could be a threat to national security and also give an avenue to the accused persons to abscond due to the seriousness of the offence.

The nine are: Dr. Fredrick Mac Palm, Col. Samuel Kodzo Gameli, Geshong Akpa, W.O.2 Esther Doku, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Lance Corporal Albert Baba Ibrahim, Lance Corporal Sylvester Akapewon, Bright Alan Debrah and Corporal Seidu Abubakar.

According to the government, between June and August 2018, they were plotting to “ obtain weapons, take over key installations, and secure funding for the purpose of taking over the reins of government.”

The government also said meetings between the suspects and serving military personnel “were closely monitored” and revealed plots to obtain weapons, take over key installations, and secure funding for a purported coup.

A joint security operation on September 20, 2019, led to the arrest of the civilian suspects after a raid on the Citadel Hospital in Alajo, which Dr. Mac-Palm manages.

Security personnel also discovered five locally manufactured handguns, a foreign handgun, three locally manufactured handgun barrels, three smoke grenades, 22 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and some AK-47 rounds.

One other person, the former Director of the Transformation Office of the Ghana Police Service, ACP Dr. Benjamin Agordzo was also charged with abetment to commit crime namely treason felony.

ACP Dr. Benjamin Agordzo was taken into the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) last week in connection with the alleged conspiracy.

Source:  citinewsroom.com 

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