The suspects
Four out of the eight persons being held in connection with the kidnapping of two Canadian ladies in Kumasi in June are sweating to meet the terms of their respective bail.
Seidu Abubakari, aka Mba, who was initially rumoured to be the ringleader of the group; Abdul Nasir, Safianu Abubakari and Abdul Rahman Suleiman, aka Wofa, were each granted GH¢200,000 bail on July 25, 2019, with two sureties each – one each to be justified by an Accra High Court.
However, almost a month after being granted bail, the accused persons are still in custody because they have not been able to meet the terms of the bail set by the court, presided over by Justice George Buadi, for which reason they are still in custody.
They were, therefore, brought to court yesterday together with the other four accused persons, namely Sampson Aghalor, aka Romeo, Elvis Ojiyorwe, Jeff Omarsar, Yusif Yakubu, who are in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicated that persons willing to stand sureties for Seidu Abubakar and one other accused person had recently presented documents to the registry of the court.
According to sources, the court had begun taking steps to confirm the authenticity of the documents and the values of the properties being used as justification for the bail.
It is, however, not clear when the authentication process would be concluded for the accused persons to be released given that the high courts are on legal vacation.
Denied Request
Meanwhile, the court has denied another request by the alleged mastermind of the gang of kidnappers, Sampson Aghalor, a Nigerian, to have him transferred to prison custody.
He had earlier requested the court to move him from the custody of the BNI, alleging bias and claims that they were being maltreated by BNI operatives. The requests were denied by the trial judge.
Appearing before a vacation judge – Justice Ekow Baiden – yesterday, Aghalor repeated the requested claiming he had been put in solitary confinement which he said was giving him mental torture.
The judge, however, rejected the request saying the matter would be determined by the substantive judge after the vacation.
The case was adjourned to September 5, 2019.
Arrest/Trial
An all-Ghanaian security operation led by the National Security on June 12 rescued the two Canadian ladies who were abducted from the gates of their hostel in a Kumasi suburb.
They are said to have kidnapped their victims and kept them in an uncompleted building on the outskirts of the town and demanded a ransom of $800,000.
The two ladies had boarded an Uber to their hostel at Nhyiaeso behind the Vienna Hotel but were accosted by the accused persons when they arrived at their destination and alighted from the car.
They are Sampson Aghalor, aka Romeo, Elvis Ojiyorwe, Jeff Omarsar, Yusif Yakubu, Abdul Nasir, Seidu Abubakar, aka Mba, Safianu Abubakari and Abdul Rahman Suleman, aka Wofa.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak