The Kaneshie District Court, presided over by Her Honour Mrs Ama Adomah-Kwakye, has dismissed a case brought before it by a police prosecution team involving alleged National Security Operatives who went mining in the Atewa Forest.
According to the Magistrate, the charges brought before her by the prosecution were not properly made, hence, she would not entertain it.
Thus, each of the accused persons, numbering 32, has been charged with possession of firearms without lawful authority, which is contrary to Section 192 of the Criminal Offence Act 1960 (Act 29).
Section192 (1) states that: “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other enactment, possession of any person who has in his possession, custody or control without lawful excuse, the proof whereof shall be on him, any explosive, firearm or ammunition shall be guilty of first degree felony.”
However, Her Honour’s decision to reject the case as also argued by lawyers for the accused persons, Theophilus Dankor and Anthony Lartey, was based on section 192 (2), which indicates that: “Provided that no prosecution shall be instituted under this section without the consent in writing of the Attorney-General.”
Her Honour held that the police could have done the proper thing by acquiring written concerns from the Attorney-General before proceeding with the case, but in this instance, failed.
Prior to the court’s decision to throw out the case, the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare, prayed it to remand the accused persons into lawful police custody.
On the contrary, counsel for the 22nd to 30th accused persons, Theophilus Donkor, also appealed to the court to grant the alleged National Security Operatives bail, since the police had kept them in custody for over seven days.
Mr Dankor further argued that the prosecution’s request for the accused to be remanded can only be interpreted that they are asking the court to aid them perpetuate an illegality, since the law frowns on suspects been kept by police over 42 hours.
He also went on to state before the court that six firearms that were allegedly retrieved from the accused persons could not have been used by all the 32 accused persons.
To him, some of the charges levelled against the accused persons are misplace, therefore, Her Honour should exercise discretion to admit the accused persons to bail.
Lawyer Donkor added that the accused persons are gainfully employed and have fixed places of abode and will not interfere with investigations.
He invited the court not to also entertain the case because there was no Attorney-General’s written concern before it.
However, ASP Asare opposed the submission made by the defence counsel, by urging that the case before the court was in the nature of a first degree felony, and it had been properly been laid before it.
According to him, investigations are still ongoing, hence, the accused persons should be remanded.
Despite the back and forth arguments by the prosecution and defence counsels, the court dismissed the case without granting any of them their requests.
The accused persons arraigned before the court yesterday are George Asante, Kwaku Frimpong, Alfred Kyei, Yaw Opoku, Richard Nartey, Paul Osei Asare, Dominic Beblie, Samuel Opoku, and Michael Quansah. Derrick Adu Kwakye, Razak Suleman, Stephen Kofi Felan, Dominic Ghansah and Robert Martey Tetteh.
The rest are Eric Addei, Adam Yakubu Commander, Adam Dakurugu, Kwame Issac Joe Acquah, Emmanuel Arhin, Samuel Asiedu Gyamfra, David Akakpo, Ebenezer Biateng, Joseph Gyamfi, Fuseini Alhassan, Alhassan Asibi, and Gabriel Dormate.
Background
The accused persons are a group of persons who carried themselves out as operative of National Security.
Sometimes in January this year, the security agencies picked up intelligence that the accused persons, armed with weapons and/or or rifles, were harassing the natives of villages in the Eastern Region in the name of National Security.
Upon the information, the National Security Secretariat dispatched a team of investigators to the area to ascertain the gravity of the matter. The team ended up rescuing the accused persons from angry youth of Akenteng.
However, a preliminary investigation conducted by the security personnel revealed that the accused persons are not National Security Operatives, but only parade themselves as such to enable their visit to mining villages and towns in the Ashanti and the Eastern regions to undertake illegal mining activities.
The accused persons had also been identified to perpetuate their unlawful activities demanding and seizing kilos of gold and huge sums of money from small scale miners, all in the name of National Security.
They were said to have gone into the forest reserve fully armed as officers of National Security, but were resisted by the youth. Rifles retrieved from the accused persons are one Tudor shotgun, one BAD shotgun, two pump action gun, and one assault rifle.
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