Mrs. Ellen Vivian Amoah yesterday threw out an oral bail application filed by Augustine Gyamfi, counsel for the seven people who were part of a youth group that attempted to attack the Kotobabi Police Station with offensive weapons recently.
According to the trial judge, counsel for the accused persons must file a written motion or application to that effect. In addition, the accused persons had not satisfied the bail conditions as prescribed by law, including a definite place of abode and gainful employment.
The Accra Circuit Court accordingly denied the suspects bail and remanded them into police custody to reappear on March 27.
The accused persons – Ibrahim Amadu, Francis Nabil, Abdala Musa, Salifu Suraku, Alex Kwao, Aliu Suleman and Samuel Homadz – have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and rioting with weapons. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court on February 27, refused the suspects a similar request from Alidu Mohammed, their counsel.
He had earlier in an interview told the DAILY GUIDE that he would be heading to the High Court to press on his application for bail for his clients.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Michael Jubiek said on February 25, this year, at around 11:30 am, police had information that a group of young men numbering about 500 on motorbikes and others on foot holding clubs, pieces of stick, stones and other offensive weapons, were marching to the Kotobabi Police Station to attack the station.
He said the attack was to revenge the lynching of their colleague called Saddam Abdulai, in the night of February 22 at Asylum Down, a suburb of Accra.
Chief Inspector Jubiek stated that the youth alleged that their colleague died as a result of an encounter with the police.
He indicated that as the irate youth were surging on the station, the police, sensing danger, called for reinforcement and the team managed to arrest the accused persons and brought them to the regional CID, Accra station, for investigation.