General News of Friday, 3 March 2017
Source: Graphic.com.gh
2017-03-03
Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora, (right),chats with Supt. Francis Baah
The Attorney-General’s Department (A-G) has taken over the case involving the two men accused of killing the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North, J.B Danquah-Adu.
Committal proceeding of the case is, therefore, expected to start in earnest at the Accra Central District Court to facilitate the start of the trial at the High Court.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mrs Yvonne Atakora Oboubisa, yesterday informed the court that the two accused persons, Daniel Asiedu and Vincent Bosso, had already been served with copies of the bill of indictment.
Mrs Oboubisa was in court with three other government lawyers to begin the committal proceedings but the absence of the lawyer for the two accused persons, Mr Augustine Obour, led to the adjournment of the case.
The DPP also amended the bill of indictment by adding two statements taken from Asiedu and Bosso on February 21, 2017.
“The investigator will serve the accused persons with copies of the two statements,” the DPP announced.
The court, presided over by Mr Stephen Owusu, adjourned the case to March 15, 2017 for the commencement of the committal proceedings.
Committal
At the committal stage, the A-G will present the evidence that had been gathered during investigations into the case before the Accra Central District Court.
The court will then evaluate the evidence and determine whether there is enough evidence for the two accused persons to stand trial at the High Court.
Daniel Asiedu has been charged with murder, while Vincent Bosso is facing a charge of abetment to commit robbery.
Facts
The facts of the case, as presented by the prosecution, were that the late Danquah-Adu lived with his family in a one-storey house at Shiashie, near East Legon, in Accra, while Asiedu and Bosso lived at Agbogbloshie, also in Accra.
About 11:40 p.m. on February 8, 2016, the MP arrived home and went to bed in a room located on the first floor of his house.
About 1 a.m. that same night, Asiedu and Bosso, armed with a catapult, a cutter and a sharp knife, went to the legislator’s house.
Bosso is said to have assisted Asiedu to enter the house by scaling the wall on the blind side of a security man who was fast asleep. On entering the house, Asiedu climbed onto a porch on the top floor with a ladder and entered the MP’s bedroom through a window.
While Asiedu was searching the room, the MP woke up and held him. There ensued a struggle, during which Asiedu stabbed the MP in the right chest above the breast. The MP consequently held the knife, and Asiedu pulled it through the MP’s hand, leaving a deep cut in his palm.
The legislator fell by his bed, bleeding profusely, after which Asiedu stabbed him several times on the right chest and neck.
On realising that the MP was dying, Asiedu left the room and took with him three iPhones.
Meanwhile, the struggle between the MP and Asiedu drew the attention of the security man in the house, who alerted others in the neighbourhood.
Having been alerted to the impending danger, Bosso took to his heels, leaving Asiedu behind. Asiedu, however, managed to descend from the top of the house. He jumped over the electric fencing on the walls of the house into an adjoining house and escaped.
