Some 22 members of the prohibited group, Western Togoland Foundation, and related groups have been put before a Kaneshie Magistrate Court for committal proceedings for their participation in activities aimed at usurping the executive powers of Ghana.
The accused persons are among a number of persons arrested for their involvement in a number of protests for the separation of the Volta Region from Ghana.
The 22, according to the police, had attacked the Aveyime Police Station armory in the Volta Region, where they stole a number of weapons, ammunitions, a police patrol vehicle and other personal effects after they managed to overpower the police officers on duty.
They are facing four counts of conspiracy to commit crime, treason felony and causing unlawful damage. Their pleas were not taken as the court did not have the jurisdiction to do so.
They are Nene Kwaku Agblorm II, Abednego Dzreke Mawuena, Emmanuel Hayford Afedo, Richard Doglo Ametepe, Benjamin Kplivi, Samuel Wor, Charles Elo, Richard Kwasin Norgbordzi, Stephen Kpexor, Kpexor Bersa Israel, Ebenezer Nyaletasi, Cephas Zodanu, Moses Gadago and Ernest Dzitor.
The rest are Vincent Amaglo Gakpeto, Atigah Dziwornu, Samuel Yao Fiagbedzi, Samuel Atsu Gagbetor, Joseph Nyamekye, Afetorgdo Kpogo and Dennis Seyram Benson.
Remanded
The accused persons were denied bail as the court presided over by Her Honour Ama Adomah Keakye held that it did not have the jurisdiction to grant bail in such matters.
Their lawyers had prayed the court to grant them bail, stating that the accused persons did not fall under any of the circumstances provided by Article 14 Clause 1 of the 1992 Constitution under which the right of a person may be curtailed.
One of them, Theophilus Donkor, told the court that the prosecution had unduly delayed the trial as they had not done anything since the accused persons were arrested on September 25, 2020.
The lawyers also told the court that all the accused persons were bread winners of their families with people dependent on them and therefore, prayed that they were granted bail.
The application was opposed by the prosecutor, ASP Sylvester Asare, who stated that by law the District Court was not the trial court, hence could not grant bail in a case involving committal.
He added that the accused persons were facing charges triable by indictment and the court would be in excess of its jurisdiction if it went ahead to grant the accused persons bail.
The court after listening to the arguments ruled that the court was not the trial court but rather the High Court.
She said once the court was not clothed with jurisdiction it will deny the application for bail in order to ensure that the accused persons do not interfere with investigations.
The case was adjourned to January 11, 2021.
Facts
Per the facts, the accused persons had plans to ‘secede’ from Ghana and pursuant to that had divided themselves in various groups to carry out their plans.
On September 25, one of the groups including the accused persons, while armed, went to the Aveyime and Mepe police stations where they overpowered police officers on duty.
The accused persons then went into the police station’s armory and stole 17 AK 47 assault rifles, five pump action guns, a shot gun, two Mack 3 guns, three SMG rifles, 11 rubber bullets, 25 rounds of 37mm tear gas cartridges, about 300 rounds of AK 47 ammunitions and a police patrol vehicle at the Aveyime police station.
They also allegedly broke into the rooms of officers and made away with their personal properties including monies.
Another group including the accused persons also blocked vehicular movement on busy highways close to Juapong on the Accra-Ho highway as well as the Accra-Aflao highway.
They were arrested separately on different days and some of the stolen items including 30 rounds of AK 47 ammunitions and six AK 47 magazines were retrieved from them.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak