The suspects being escorted by the police
State prosecutors have indicated that national investigative bodies have come across very crucial evidence in the trial of eight (8) persons arrested and arraigned for kidnapping two Canadian ladies in Kumasi.
Hilda Craig, a Senior State Attorney, who revealed this in court yesterday, said “new and serious evidence are being gathered” in the matter which has attracted both national and international attention.
She said the prosecution wants to carry out thorough investigations into the matter given the divergent interests in the case.
This, however, did not go down well with Andrew Vortia counsel for Seidu Abubakari, aka Mba, who said he was convinced the prosecution was using the ‘fresh evidence’ bit to keep them in detention.
Bias
During the proceedings, the mastermind of the gang of kidnappers, Sampson Aghalor, a Nigerian, alleged bias treatment by officials of the Bureau or National Investigations (BNI).
According to him, unlike his Ghanaian counterparts who had been allowed access and visitations by their relatives, he and the other Nigerian had been denied same opportunity to speak with their families.
He mentioned Seidu Abubakari and Yusif Yakubu as the ones who had been allowed the privilege of speaking with their relative when asked by the judge who had visitations.
Aghalor was the same person who said in court that he was expressing remorse for staging the kidnapping of the Canadians and asked for forgiveness.
The prosecution, led by Hilda Craig, a Senior State Attorney, expressed surprise at the suspect’s accusation saying none of the suspects was denied family visitations.
She, however, assured the court to look into the matter and have its superiors communicate with the BNI for immediate action to be taken.
Bail Application
Meanwhile, the court, presided over by Justice George Buadi, has adjourned the matter to July 29 to consider an application for bail for some of the accused persons.
This follows the failure on the parts of the lawyers to serve the Office of the Attorney-General (A-G) with the said applications.
Mr. Vortia, who represents Seidu Abubakari, wanted to move the application for bail when the attention of the court was drawn to the non-service on the A-G.
Arrest
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 last month.
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; Safianu Abubakari and Abdul Rahman Suleman, aka Wofa.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak