The eight accused persons leaving the courtroom amid tight security
Eight stoutly-built young men, suspected to be members of the Delta Force, a vigilante group associated with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), have been remanded into prison custody for one week.
The action stems from their alleged involvement in aiding 13 members of the Delta Force to escape from the KMA Circuit Court last week while they were standing trial.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty and so their lawyer, Garry Nimako, prayed the court to grant them bail, promising that his clients would corporate with the court.
But the packed-to-capacity court, presided over by Patricia Amponsah, refused the bail application and remanded them.
Accused Persons
The accused persons are Abass Caesar, Ebenezer Opoku, Samuel Yeboah, Kofi Fosu, Christian Anokye, Kwame Frimpong, Suleman Wadud and Eric Kusi.
They are said to be members of the Delta Force, a dangerous vigilante group, which has been in the news for the bad reasons lately.
They were charged with causing commotion in court, resisting arrest and rescuing 13 persons from lawful custody.
Lawyer’s Argument
The counsel for the accused persons argued that his clients are not members of the Delta Force, as the media reports had suggested.
According to him, the accused persons were not among the people, who invaded the KMA Circuit Court on the day that the 13 people escaped.
He said the fact that his clients were nabbed at Fante New Town, which is very far from the court premises, buttresses his claim that they are innocent.
But the judge was not convinced so she remanded the eight persons into prison custody to re-appear in court on April 18, this year.
Escape
A mob, singing war songs, invaded the courtroom last week in a brutal fashion, making it possible for the 13 people to escape.
The escape took place a few minutes after the judge had remanded them for two weeks over the assault of Mr. George Adjei, Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator.
People at the scene accused the police of not stationing enough personnel at the court premises, resulting in the easy escape of the 13 people.
The 13, who later surrendered to the police, are currently serving their two weeks’ remand sentence in prison.
Tight Security
But the police seemed to have learnt their lessons, as they stationed armed personnel at the court premises later.
A joint police team from Accra and Kumasi were seen combing the court premises even as the case was being heard yesterday.
After the judge issued the remand sentence, the eight persons, who were in handcuffs, looked calm, as they left the courtroom for the prison.
From I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi