Two persons who escaped from the Kwabenya police cells have been sentenced to 60 months imprisonment by an Accra circuit court.
The convicts, Prince Osei aka Bebe and Atta Kwadzo were among seven cell mates who were set free by a gang of six armed men who went to the police station, killing Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi on duty in the process.
They are among 12 persons who have been arrested and arraigned before the court.
They are facing five counts of possessing firearm without lawful authority, abetment to possessing firearms, conspiracy to commit crime to wit: escape from lawful custody, escape from lawful custody and abetment to escape from lawful custody.
The convicts pleaded guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit crime to wit: escape from lawful custody, and escape from lawful custody, and were convicted on their pleas.
The presiding judge, Aboagye Tandoh, sentencing the two, took into consideration the need to balance their pleas for mitigation and the need to serve as deterrence to others.
He therefore sentenced them to 30 months imprisonment each on each count to run concurrently.
Bail Application
Meanwhile, the court has set February 26, 2018 to rule on application for bail filed on behalf of some of the other suspects who have been remanded into custody.
Bernard Owiredu, lawyer for Nancy Dentaa – the woman who is accused of passing on a mobile phone to the suspects whiles they were in police cells – moving the application for bail for his client, stated that she (Dentaa) trades in bread and thus has a livelihood.
He said the suspect is a single mother taking care of her six-year-old son and has relatives who are willing to stand in as sureties for her.
Mr Owiredu added that there would be no way she would risk deciding to run away from coming to face trial.
Lawyer for Elvis Owusu and Theophilus Bandah also prayed the court to admit his clients to bail, saying they are all gainfully employed.
He added that his clients were only arrested after Atta Kwadzo pointed to a compound house at Kasoa Nyanyano and the police, as part of their investigations, arrested all the young men in the house.
Lawyers for George Yeboah aka Akwesi Shower, Prince Kofi Acheampong and Edward Lartey also prayed the court to grant their clients bail.
The prosecution, led by Superintendent of Police Kwaku Bemah, however, objected to the granting of bail to the accused persons.
He said the incident had generated a lot of public attention and emotion and for the sake of the accused, they should be kept in custody while the trial commences.
The prosecutor added that the suspects would not avail themselves to face trial, should they be granted bail.
Mr  Aboagye Tandoh subsequently ordered the prosecution to conclude its investigation by the next adjourned date to enable him rule on the bail applications.
Background
A group of six armed men raided the police station at Kwabenya on January 21, 2018 at about 1:30 am to free seven inmates from cells, killing Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi.
They then took the keys to the police cells and released seven inmates – Chibuzor Akwuba, Emmanuel Kotey, Rockson Edem Dzidegbe, Dickson Ofori, Prince Osei, Atta Kwadzo and Kofi Darko.
 BY Gibril Abdul Razak