The suspects
Four out of the eight persons being held in
connection with the kidnapping of two Canadian ladies in Kumasi in June are
sweating to meet the terms of their respective bail.
Seidu Abubakari, aka Mba, who was initially
rumoured to be the ringleader of the group; Abdul Nasir, Safianu Abubakari and
Abdul Rahman Suleiman, aka Wofa, were each granted GH¢200,000 bail on July 25,
2019, with two sureties each – one each
to be justified by an Accra High Court.
However, almost a month after being granted
bail, the accused persons are still in custody because they have not been able
to meet the terms of the bail set by the court, presided over
by Justice George Buadi, for which reason they are still in custody.
They were, therefore, brought to court yesterday
together with the other four accused persons, namely Sampson Aghalor, aka
Romeo, Elvis Ojiyorwe, Jeff Omarsar, Yusif Yakubu, who are in the custody of
the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicated
that persons willing to stand sureties for Seidu Abubakar and one other accused
person had recently presented documents to the registry of the court.
According to sources, the court had begun
taking steps to confirm the authenticity of the documents and the values of the
properties being used as justification for the bail.
It is, however, not clear when the
authentication process would be concluded for the accused persons to be
released given that the high courts are on legal vacation.
Denied
Request
Meanwhile, the court has denied another request
by the alleged mastermind of the gang of kidnappers, Sampson Aghalor, a
Nigerian, to have him transferred to prison custody.
He had earlier requested the court to move him
from the custody of the BNI, alleging bias and claims that they were being
maltreated by BNI operatives. The requests were denied by the trial judge.
Appearing before a vacation judge – Justice
Ekow Baiden – yesterday, Aghalor repeated the requested claiming he had been
put in solitary confinement which he said was giving him mental torture.
The judge, however, rejected the request saying
the matter would be determined by the substantive judge after the vacation.
The case was adjourned to September 5, 2019.
Arrest/Trial
An all-Ghanaian security operation led by the
National Security on June 12 rescued the two Canadian ladies who were abducted
from the gates of their hostel in a Kumasi suburb.
They are said to have kidnapped their victims
and kept them in an uncompleted building on the outskirts of the town and
demanded a ransom of $800,000.
The two ladies had boarded an Uber to their
hostel at Nhyiaeso behind the Vienna Hotel but were accosted by the accused
persons when they arrived at their destination and alighted from the car.
They are Sampson Aghalor, aka Romeo, Elvis Ojiyorwe, Jeff Omarsar, Yusif Yakubu, Abdul Nasir, Seidu Abubakar, aka Mba, Safianu Abubakari and Abdul Rahman Suleman, aka Wofa.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
