Private legal practitioner, Lawyer Kwame Akuffo says the basis for the arrest of Lawrence Nana Asiama Hanson (Bulldog) as the prime suspect in the murder of Fennec Okyere is untenable.
The Police Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) on Thursday arrested the manager of dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale and CEO of Bull Haus Entertainment, Bulldog as ”prime suspect” in investigations of the murder of Fennec.
But lawyer Akuffo on Eyewitness News said it is wrong for the police to tag Mr. Hanson as a suspect.
”I don’t think that the gentleman [ Bulldog] should be a suspect at this stage. I think that the gentleman is only a person of interest at this stage,” he said.
The Police say they arrested Bulldog on the basis of threatening text messages he purportedly sent to the deceased.
“Text messages on its own do not amount to anything, whiles it may be the basis to begin to investigate that person [ Bulldog]. It does not necessary transcend the person into a suspect,” lawyer Akuffo explained.
He noted that unless the police can connect Bulldog to the scene of the crime by a forensic test or by conspiracy [in the sense that some third party is arrested and they mention the name of Bulldog], ”you have nothing”.
Aside the threatening text messages, Bulldog is alleged to have also threatened the deceased openly on live radio but Lawyer Akuffo said: ”Because the gentleman made this statement does not make him a suspect. Those statements cannot convict Bulldog, it cannot even sustain a criminal trial” adding that such statements are ”bragging” statements.
He advised the Police to rather see Bulldog as a person of interest, ”and begin to find out whether they can connect him to the trial instead.”
He accused the Police of adopting a lazy attitude towards the investigations adding that, the logic the Police is operating with means, ”when a man is murdered, all his enemies or perceived enemies must be arrested”.
”A mere text statement does not connect the person to murder; its lazy work from the Police to make such assumption,” he reiterated.
Fennec Okyere was killed at his Manet Gardens residence on the Spintex Road, Accra on Thursday, March 13 by unknown assailants.
He died at age 31 and left behind a wife and a son.