Plea to portray Mfansteman killers as ‘responsible’ fails, judge denies bail
The Accra Circuit Court has denied a bail application for the release of eight accused persons arrested in connection with the murder of the Mfansteman Member of Parliament (MP), Ekow Quansah Hayford.
The eight accused persons, who have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to robbery and robbery, have been remanded.
The accused persons are Alhassan Abubakar, Naziru Fudailu Nash, popularly called SP, Alhassan Mahama Yahaya, Amadu Yakubu, Haruna Osumanu, Adam Alhassan, Fuseini Osuman and Fred Tetteh.
This was after the prosecutor, ASP Fuseni Yakubu, strongly opposed the bail application by lawyers of the accused persons.
It was the case of the prosecution that it was premature to grant the accused persons bail at this point.
ASP Yakubu held that “considering the fact that some of the prime suspects in the case are still on the run and the nature of the case, they should be remanded.”
He also said the accused persons have not proven to the court that they have permanent places of abode as is being suggested by the lawyers.
Making a case for bail, lawyers for the accused persons had argued that they were responsible individuals of the society with permanent places of abode.
They added that the accused persons have dependents who rely on them for financial assistance.
In the case of Amadu Yakubu, Haruna Osumanu, Adam Alhassan, their lawyer, George Asomani said the accused persons were not even mentioned till the latter part of the facts presented in court.
According to Mr Asomani, there is nothing that shows that his clients were at the crime scene.
He intends to prove his assertion with a ‘notice of alibi’ to confirm the whereabouts of the accused persons at the time of the alleged robbery.
The case has been adjourned to November 16, 2020.
Background
The Mfantseman legislator, Ekow Quanssah Hayford, was shot and killed on October 9, 2020, after his car was attacked by a gang suspected to be armed robbers.
The MP was returning from campaign duties when the incident happened.
The 49-year-old MP was in his vehicle with his driver and the constituency’s First Vice-Chairman when he was shot.
Facts
According to the facts of the case, the first accused person, Alhassan Abubakar is a mobile phone repairer living at Akwatia Line, Kumasi.
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The second accused person, Naziru Fudailu Nash popularly called SP, is a businessman living at Aboabo number 2, Kumasi.
The third accused person, Alhassan Mahama Yahaya also known as Mystical Cloud is unemployed living at Dansoman.
The fourth accused person, Amadu Yakubu, is a mobile money agent living at Mankessim Zongo.
The fifth accused person, Haruna Osumanu, is a trader living at Mankessim while the sixth accused person, Adam Alhassan is a scraps dealer.
The seventh accused person, Fuseini Osuman is a blacksmith and the eight accused person Fred Tetteh is a farmer.
The prosecution said on October 9, 2020, about 1:00 am, police had information that armed robbers had barricaded a section of the road between Abeaze-Dominase and Duadze on the Mankessim-Assufosu highway.
The accused person robbed commuters of their mobile phones, monies and other valuables.
On receipt of the information, police quickly mobilised men and proceeded to the scene but narrowly missed the robbers.
At the scene, police saw a number of vehicles parked on the road with some of the victims who had sustained various degrees of gunshot wounds with one dead.
According to the prosecution, the body was later identified as the Member of Parliament for Mfansteman constituency, Ekow Quansah Hayford.
Two of the victims were seriously injured. One Patrick Asante, a KIA truck driver and Uncle Issah the late MP’s driver.
Police cleared the road and conveyed the victims to Winneba and Cape Coast Hospitals for medical attention.
The body of the deceased Member of Parliament Ekow Quansah Hayford was also deposited at the Saltpond Mortuary pending autopsy.
The late MP for Mfansteman filed his nominations on October 8, 2020, for re-election and decided to visit four communities in the Taabosom electoral area, namely, Effutakwa, Opim, Takoradi and Duadze.
After having visited the communities with his campaign team members; Yaw Berchie, Nuako Frederick, Stephen Atteh Allan, Frank Asiedu, Emmanuel Bandoo and the driver, Uncle Issah were on their way back to Mankessim when the unfortunate happened.
At about 1:00am, the prosecution said the team bumped into a gang of robbers who blocked the road between Abeaze Dominase and Duadze robbing motorist of their monies and valuables.
“The MP arrived with his campaign team on board a Mitsuibitsi pickup branded in NPP colors. The robbers immediately fired shots into the vehicle bursting the tyres as the vehicle suddenly stopped after running into a ditch,” as narrated.
According to the prosecution, the robbers surrounded them and demanded for all their valuables.
The robbers pointed a gun at Stephen Allan and asked whether he was the MP, he said no.
The MP, as narrated by the police, owned up so the robbers pounced on him and collected his Samsung galaxy 850 mobile phone and remanded money.
“The late MP told the robbers that he had used up all his money as he was returning from a campaign tour. He, therefore, pleaded with them to take him to his house to give them money but they refused and shot him instantly,” the police said.
Fast forward, the police tracked the mobile phone of the deceased to Kumasi and arrested Nasiru at Aboabo in possession of the deceased Samsung galaxy 850.
The second accused person mentioned Alhassan Abubakar as the person who sold the phone to him at GH₵780.00.
He then led the police to Akwatia line where Abubakar was also arrested. Abubakar also mentioned another accused person, who is on the run, as the one who sold the phone to him at GH₵670.00.
Yahaya, Yakubu, Osumanu, Alhassan, Osuman and Tetteh were all arrested in connection with the robbery and murder of the late MP.
Efforts are underway to get the seventh accused person and the other accomplices who are at large.