Defence lawyers in the trial of the eight persons suspected to be robbers on major highways across the country, have chided the police for assaulting the suspects in their custody.
They are Abdulai Salia, spiritualist; Abdul Karim, businessman; Osman Yaro Jallo, Musah Bube, Inusah Layah, – all herdsmen; Abdul Razak Osman aka Bob Cedi, taxi driver; Fatau Mohammed, load assistant and Kofi Ahmed, businessman.
According to the lawyers, the police beat up the accused persons who refused to be captured on the cameras of journalists at the police headquarters in Accra.
The police had earlier paraded them as being among 24 suspected highway robbers.
The accused, believed to be of Fulani extraction, according to the police, allegedly operated a network which shared information on the movement of passenger buses from Accra to all parts of the country.
Arrested by personnel of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service, the accused were also said to be involved in cross-border crimes, especially in northern Ghana and neighbouring Burkina Faso.
However, at the hearing of the case, the supposed 24 suspected robbers had shrunk to eight, raising questions as to the whereabouts of the rest.
Paul Kumi, one of the defence counsels, told the Accra Central District Court, with particular reference to the July 10, 2017 edition of the Daily Graphic that his clients were paraded and shots taken of them which were published by the paper.
He noted that the said publication had a picture of his client Bube, with a cache of arms as an inset, indicating that the picture ostensibly described Bube as the mastermind and member of the gang.
He was emphatic that as an officer of the court, the least he would want to see was for the police to abuse his clients, adding that the 1992 Constitution upholds the presumption of innocence until otherwise determined by a court of law.
Mr. Kumi contended that Augustine Dery, the investigator who was required to update the court in respect of the case, had deliberately refused to attend court sittings, with the excuse that he had been on a different assignment.
He served notice that the defence would petition the Inspector General of Police over the matter.
Ms. Leticia Afful, a member of the defence team, catalogued a series of inhumane treatment the police had visited on her clients.
The prosecutor, Detective Inspector Simon Apiorsornu, denied the accusations but Mr. Kumi retorted, “What sickens me is the official collusion to these kinds of things…”
The police officer said he could not authenticate the source of the Daily Graphic story.
The trial Magistrate, Mr. Stephen Owusu, was sure that the said incidents the defence team had complained about actually happened, describing them as unfortunate.
He said if the incident did not occur, Daily Graphic would not get the pictures.
He explained that at the last hearing the investigator had informed the court that he did not know when investigations would end. He queried, “On what basis did you parade them?”
Mr. Owusu said it was important the accused persons were removed from police custody to the Nsawam Prison, if the accused would be badly treated by the police.
Hearing continues on July 26.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson