GYEEDA Suspect Assibit Transferred To Nsawam Prisons

The Chief Executive of Goodwill International Group (GIG), Philip Akpeena Assibit, who has been accused of defrauding the state and was in detention at the Ministries Police Station, has been transferred to the Nsamam Prisons.

He has been in detention since the last adjournment of the case in which he and Abuga Pele, a former National Coordinator of the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) are standing trial for allegedly defrauding the state.

The two are facing 19 counts including defrauding by false pretences, willfully causing financial loss to the state, intentionally causing loss to public property and abetment of crime.

Assibit is mentioned specifically as having defrauded the state to the tune of 4,165,568.53 by making claims and receiving payments for services he never rendered to GYEEDA.

He was granted a two-million cedis bail with four sureties, two to be justified.

Mr. Assibit was initially allowed to walk free but on the last adjourned date on February 13, 2014, the trial judge, Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe drew the attention of his lawyers to some anomalies in the documents submitted to the court on his bail.

He was consequently detained.

One of his lawyers Joseph Kpenka told Joy News they are yet to meet all the bail conditions.

According to him, they were able to supply all the necessary documentations needed for the bail to be granted but the trial judge refused to accept some of them.

He said they are still yet to provide one of the documentations needed for their client to be granted bail and confirmed Assibit has been transferred to the Nsawam prisons.

He convinced if the police and the Lands Commission complete the verification of documents submitted, the suspect will be released Friday.

The two accused persons are to reappear in court on March 4 and 5, 2014 for the trial to resume.

Lawyers for Assibit, led by Raymond Bagnabu, are expected to continue with their cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, Nuru Hamidan, a former deputy Coordinator at GYEEDA, on March 4.

Thaddeus Sory, Lead lawyer for Abuga Pele, will take his turn for the cross-examination on March 5, 2014.