ACP/Dr. Benjamin Agordzo
Tell-tale WhatsApp chats among the alleged coup plotters are making clearer the depth of collaboration that existed between ACP/Dr. Benjamin Agordzo and the Alajo Proprietor of the Citadel Hospital, Accra, Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm.
Investigators of the alleged coup plot in which ACP/Dr. Agordzo has been implicated are said to be in possession of about a dozen-page WhatsApp communications between the superior police officer and the alleged plotters, particularly the medical doctor.
Stash of Messages
The stash of messages which the police officer discredited as ‘irrelevant’ to the coup charge he is facing allegedly contain security tips about how to go about the various stages of the build-up to the D-Day when the government would be toppled according to their plan.
After his maiden appearance in a Kaneshie Magistrate Court in Accra last Wednesday, the superior police officer told the media in a brief remark that the WhatsApp messages over which he had been charged were irrelevant. Besides, he claimed to be as strong as anything and could not be broken down.
It is instructive that he admitted by the remarks that there are social media messages between him and some persons related to the subject. He did not, however, state what the contents of the communications were.
The alleged details DAILY GUIDE has stumbled upon present the superior police officer as holding an important position in the plot, as the messages underscore this unambiguously.
Start-up
According to the plan, a series of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were going to be detonated across Accra, especially the Jubilee House (Presidency), to simulate tension and facilitate the destabilization of the plot.
A situation of tension would be simulated followed by demonstration until the D-Day when already primed troops would be deployed to enforce the final strike.
Serious Mission
The whole alleged plot started with security novices at first, perhaps deliberately, but as things progressed, security experts popped up as deduced from the messages.
Critical security advice was no longer in short supply with the advent of the experts in the scheme of things. Additional information indicated that Dr. Agordzo was allegedly detailed to author the contents of the coup broadcast.
Court Documents
Already, documents that have been filed by prosecutors in court show that Dr. Agordzo held “several meetings with the leadership of the group currently in custody and incited them to take over the government as a right.”
He is accused of demonstrating commitment “to assist the unlawful enterprise with various sums of money to facilitate the organization of the intended demonstration and taking over.”
IED Production
By 28th August 2019, the Citadel Hospital IED production centre had already produced some quantities of the explosive for the coup, investigators have learnt.
Financing
Investigators are also in possession of evidence of how Dr. Agordzo was offering financial assistance to his ‘collaborators’, their indiscreet communication on social media including a group giving out too much about the project.
When the court hearing finally starts Ghanaians, a security source has said, will have the opportunity to listen to the evidence garnered in the past 15 months since investigations into the activities of the suspects began.
While some politicians on the other side of the aisle sought to rubbish the plot as a red herring, it is becoming clear that the BNI and National Security operatives are holding on to vital evidence ready to be turned in when the court hearings begin.
Key Suspects
The civilians who have already been charged are Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, a doctor and the alleged mastermind behind the coup plot; Donya Kafui, aka Ezor, a local weapon manufacturer (blacksmith) from Alavanyo, and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu, aka BB or ADC.
The military officers caught in the alleged coup plot included a senior officer, Col. Samuel Kojo Gameli; Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Lance Corporal Sylvester Akapewu, Lance Corporal Seidu Abubakar and one WO II Esther Saan, aka Mama Gee, of the Military Academy and Training Schools (MATS), and also a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces, Gershon Akpa.
By A.R. Gomda