The late Ekow Quansah Hayford
An Accra Circuit Court, yesterday, remanded into police custody eight men arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of Ekow Quansah Hayford, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Mfantseman in the Central Region.
All eight suspects were brought to the court in a police van with gun wielding police officers.
Six of the suspects were the first to appear before the court last week and the two recently arrested joined them yesterday for the trial.
When the case was called, the prosecution said it was amending the charge sheet to include the two suspects who had just been picked up.
Main Suspects
The suspects, who appeared in court, included Alhassan Abubakar, aka Abu Fulani, phone repairer; Naziru Fadilu, aka SP, businessman; Alhassan Mahama Yahaya, aka Mystical Cloud, unemployed; Amadu Yakubu, mobile money agent; Haruna Osman, trader; and Adam Alhassan, scrap dealer.
The two who were recently picked up are Fuseini Osman, aka Black Smith, and Fred Tetteh, aka Walace.
There is another suspect only identified as Mohammed who is currently at large according to the police.
On the new charge sheet, all the suspects are facing two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.
They pleaded not guilty but their counsel could not secure bails for them pending the trial.
No Bail
One of the lawyers, George Asameni, told the court that his clients were nowhere near the alleged crime scene and that he intended to file an alibi to that effect.
The prosecution, led by ASP Fuseini Yakubu, opposed the grant of bail on grounds that it was premature and the facts that some of the suspects in the case were still on the run.
The court, presided over by Evelyn Asamoah, after listening to the parties, remanded the accused persons into police custody to reappear on November 16.
Gruesome Killing
The MP was shot and killed on the Abeadze-Dominase-Duadzi-Mankessim road on the night of Friday, October 9, 2020 while he was returning from a campaign programme after filing his nomination to seek re-election hours earlier.
The brief facts of the case as presented by ASP Yakubu were that on October 9, 2020 at about 1:00am, police had information that armed robbers had barricaded a section of the road between Abeaze-Dominase and Duadze on the Mankessim highway, robbing commuters of their mobile phones, monies and other valuables.
He said on receipt of the information, police quickly mobilized and proceeded to the scene but narrowly missed the robbers.
He told the court that at the scene, the police saw a number of vehicles parked on the road, with some of the victims who had sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds, with one dead.
“The body was later identified as the MP for Mfantseman Constituency, Mr. Hayford. Two of the victims were seriously injured – one Patrick Asante, a Kia truck driver and Uncle Issah, the late MP’s driver,” the court heard.
Clearing Traffic
The prosecutor continued that police cleared the road to traffic and conveyed the victims to Winneba and Cape Coast hospitals for medical attention while the body of the slain MP was also deposited at the Saltpond mortuary pending autopsy.
He said investigations revealed that the late MP filed his nominations form on October 8, 2020 for re-election and decided to visit four communities in the Taabosom electoral area, namely Effutakwa, Opim, Takoradi and Duadze.
After having visited the communities with his campaign team members, namely Yaw Berchie, Nuako, Frederick, aka Wofa Yaw, Stephen Atteh Allan, Frank Asiedu, aka Okokroko, Emmanuel W. Bandoo and the driver, Uncle Issah, they were on their way back to Mankessim.
At about 1:00am, the team bumped into a gang of armed robbers who blocked the road between Abeaze-Dominase and Duadze, robbing motorist of their monies and valuables.
The MP arrived with his campaign team on board a Mitsubishi pickup branded in NPP colours.
Firing Weapons
ASP Yakubu continued that the robbers immediately fired gunshots into the vehicle, bursting the tyres as the vehicle suddenly stopped after running into a ditch.
He said, “The robbers surrounded them and demanded for all their valuables. The robbers pointed a gun at Stephen Allan and asked whether he was the MP, he said no. The MP himself owned up so they pounced on him and collected his Samsung galaxy 850 mobile phone and demanded money.
“The late MP told the robbers that he had used up all his money as he was returning from campaign tour. He, therefore, pleaded with them to take him to his house to give them money but they refused and shot him, killing him instantly.”
Phone Tracking
ASP Yakubu said police tracked the mobile phone of the deceased to Kumasi and arrested Naziru Fadilu at Aboabo in Kumasi, who was in possession of the deceased’s mobile phone.
He said Naziru mentioned Alhassan Abubakar as the person who sold the phone to him at GH¢780.
He stated that Naziru led the police to Akwatia Line where Abubakar was also arrested.
According to ASP Yakubu, Abubakar also mentioned Mohammed, who is on the run as the one who sold the phone to him at GH¢680.
He said the other five were all arrested in connection with the robbery and murder of the late MP.
ASP Yakubu added that efforts were underway to arrest Mohammed and the remaining suspects who are on the run.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak