Eugene Baffoe-Bonie
Lawyer for Eugene Baffoe-Bonie, former Board Chairman of the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the state have clashed over the police caution statement of the accused person in which he admitted that he and others benefited financially in the purchase of the $4 million cyber-security equipment for National Security.
This was after the defence lawyer vehemently objected to the move by the prosecution, led by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Yvonne Attakora-Obuobisa, to tender the statement in evidence through the case investigator, Detective Chief Inspector Michael Nkrumah.
According to lawyer Thaddeus Sory, Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie did not give the statement voluntarily, as he was coerced, induced, threatened while writing the statement.
He stated that the statement was taken in violation of Section 120 of the Evidence Act.
The defence lawyer added that his client was not reminded of his right to counsel at the time of making the statement.
Mr. Sory argued that there was no independent witness available when Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie made the confession in his caution statement which the state now intends to rely on for its case.
Mr. Sory, therefore, prayed the court, presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffuor, to reject the caution statement and expunge it from the evidence.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa, however, refuted the allegations, saying Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie was not under duress when he wrote the statement.
According to her, the former NCA Board Chair indicated in the statement that he was advised on his right to a counsel of his own before he wrote the statement.
“His fundamental human rights were not breached at all because he was reminded of his right to counsel,” the DPP stated.
She added that the court should hold a mini trial to determine whether the statement was taken without an independent witness and its admissibility.
The presiding judge, Justice Kyei Baffuor, subsequently set March 5, 2019 for the mini trial to determine the admissibility of the statement.
The court, however, overruled the objection of the defence lawyer that Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie was not informed of his right to counsel at the time of writing the statement.
Caution Statements
Meanwhile, the investigator has tendered in evidence some investigative caution statements of the accused persons.
He told the court that at the time he took over the case from Sergeant Marcus Yawuli, Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie had already given three caution statements while Mr. Tetteh-Tevie had also given one caution statement.
According to Chief Inspector Nkrumah, Nana Owusu Ensaw also gave one caution statement while businessman George Dereck Oppong also gave three ordinary statements.
He told the court that he also took six more caution statements from Mr. Baffoe-Bonnie in addition to one charge statement.
He was however unable to tender them in evidence as the defence lawyer challenged their admissibility which would be determined by the court during the mini trial.
Touching on Mr. Tetthe-Tevie, the investigator stated that he also took five caution statements and one charge statement from him and tendered them in evidence.
The court, however, rejected the three ordinary statements taken from Mr. Oppong since the statements, which appear to be confessions, were not taken in the presence of an independent witness in accordance with Section 120 of the Evidence Act.
By Gibril Abdul Razak