The accused persons
An Accra Circuit Court is expected to resume the trial of the remaining four accused persons who allegedly attacked the Kwabenya Police Station to free some inmates who were in custody.
The four were ordered by the court to open their defence after six others were acquitted and discharged because of the failure of the prosecution to establish a prima facie case against them.
Prince Osei, aka Bebe, is facing a charge of possession of firearm while Prince Kofi Acheampong is also facing a charge of abetment in the possession of firearms.
Nancy Denta and Kofi Seshie are facing charges of abetment to escape from lawful custody.
Prince Osei was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment by the court after he pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody.
Osei told the court how the police stopped a bus on which he was travelling to Dome Kwabenya and conducted routine checks.
“They asked me to get down and conducted a search. I was the only person who alighted. In the process of conducting the search, the bus conductor brought a handkerchief containing six cartridges, and I told the police I knew nothing about them. They took me to the police vehicle,” the accused said.
He said the police searched him for about five minutes and found nothing on him.
“Whilst going back to the car, three Nigerians (suspects), who were already in the police vehicle said I had left something in the car and when the officers showed it to me, it was a gun but I told them it wasn’t mine,” he told the court.
He said the police transported him to the Kwabenya Police Station and kept him in custody for one week.
“I was there one night when I saw that the police cells had opened, and I realized that people were running away so I followed them,” Prince Osei declared.
During cross-examination by the prosecution, led by Superintendent of Police Kwaku Bempah, Prince Osei vehemently denied that a gun and six cartridges were found on him although the prosecutor maintained he was not being truthful to the court.
The defence lawyers were expected to continue their cross-examination yesterday, but the court did not sit, as the presiding judge, Mr. Aboagye Tandoh was absent.
The case is expected to resume today for defence lawyers to continue the cross-examination of Prince Osei.
The remaining accused persons would also get the chance to tell their side of the story.
Imprisonment
The court has so far sentenced four persons, who pleaded guilty, to a total 96 months’ imprisonment for their role in the attack on the Kwabenya Police Station on January 21, 2018 at about 1:30am which led to the death of Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi.
Kofi Darko, aka Kofi Duku, 25, trader and Emmanuel Kotey, 24, motor rider on March 20, 2018, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit escape from lawful custody and escape from lawful custody.
Kofi Darko was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment on both counts which would run concurrently.
Emmanuel Kotey, who was the latest accused to be arrested in connection with the case, was sentenced to 34 months’ imprisonment on both counts to run concurrently.
Prince Osei, aka Bebe and Atta Kwadzo in February, 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.
They were each sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment in hard labour.
By Gibril Abdul Razak