CAGED! Eric Kojo Duah
Six persons alleged to have aided Eric Kojo Dua in the gruesome murder of the two police officers in the Central Region have been discharged by a Kaneshie District Court in Accra.
This follows the
decision of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to drop the charges
levelled against them.
They include Isaac
Amissah, Ibrahim Zakaria, Isaac Mensa, Oblitey Commey, Victor Yire and Fatawu
Ahmed. They were initially charged with conspiracy to commit crime in the
murder of Sgt. Michael Dzamasi, a service driver, and L/Cpl Awal Mohammed at a
place called Big Apple at Buduburam, near Kasoa.
The deceased policemen were personnel of the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) detachment at Kasoa, and their deaths sparked public outrage.
New Charges
Following the call
by the prosecution for the discharge of the six men, the charge sheet and the
facts of the case that were presented during the previous court sitting were
also substituted.
New Suspects
The new charges saw three new suspects—all of whom are at
large—as those who allegedly
conspired with Eric Kojo Dua to murder the two police officers.
The new suspects
are Mike Anim, one Theophilus and another person who was only identified as
Kay.
Per the new charges,
Kojo Dua is facing two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and another two
counts of murder.
The other three suspects at large are each facing two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
Latest Development
The prosecution
led by ASP Sylvester Asare told the court that they had to substitute the old
charge sheet due to certain ‘new developments’ in the case.
He stated that in
light of the latest development, investigations are currently ongoing to
apprehend the accomplices of Kojo Dua.
He, therefore,
pleaded with the court presided over by Rosemond Doodua Agyiri to remand Dua to
enable the police conduct further investigations.
Order
The presiding magistrate
remanded the accused person in BNI custody, reminding him of his right to a
lawyer.
Though this was
his second appearance in court, he appeared to be struggling to engage a lawyer
to defend him.
The presiding magistrate
asked the BNI officials to give the accused person the opportunity to speak
with his lawyer, asking Dua to report to her at the next sitting if he was
denied that right.
The case was adjourned to October 9.
Murder
The two police officers were killed
on August 28 by suspected armed robbers at a place called Big Apple near Buduburam,
Kasoa, in the Central Region. The two officers were said to be on Task Force duties
on the Kasoa-Winneba highway when the main suspect, Kojo Dua, and the other
three suspects on board an unregistered Toyota Camry blatantly ignored the
signal of the officers to stop and sped off.
The police
officers chased the suspects and caught up with them a few metres away from
KAAF University at Old Block around the Buduburam-Aprah road where they asked
Eric Dua to step out of the vehicle but he refused.
An attempt by the
police officers to apprehend the suspect led to a struggle between them and the
accused was said to have rushed to the vehicle and pulled out a gun shooting
the late L/Cpl Mohammed Awal in the left rib and on his left shoulder.
Sgt. Dzamasi,
sensing danger, decided to run for his life but was also shot by Dua.
He then managed
to seek refuge in a grocery store but Dua followed him to the store where he
shot him three more times in the head leading to his death.
G/L/Cpl Awal
Mohammed who sustained gunshot wounds was also pronounced dead shortly on
arrival at the hospital.
The other three suspects—Mike Anim, Theophilus and Kay who were in the
vehicle with Dua—sped off and later abandoned the vehicle at Kokrobite and absconded.
A search
conducted in the vehicle led to discovery of a document regarding a registered
pistol bearing the name of Kojo Dua.
Revenge
Mission
Kojo Duah was on the run after
the deadly incident and was later arrested on the Senchi Bridge on Saturday, August
31, in the Eastern Region.
He was taken to the Akosombo
Police Station after his arrest where he allegedly admitted to the murder of
Sgt. Dzamesi.
He is reported to have said he killed Sgt. Dzamesi out of revenge for the death of his mother because he was convinced that the deceased was responsible for it.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
