An Accra Circuit Court yesterday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of one of the 11 accused in the raiding of the headquarters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), for failing to appear before court.
Michael Agoha, was one of the 11 other accused who raided the headquarters of the opposition NPP on Monday November, 23, last year
This was after the prosecutor Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Abraham Annor prayed the court for a bench warrant for the arrest of the two of the accused who were absent, thus, Michael Agoha and Abdulai Wudu for failing to appear before the court.
Counsel for the accused Abdul Aziz Mohammed, told the court that he had received information that Abdulai, had lost his mother and as a result, he was unable to make it to court.
However, concevning Michael Agoha, the counsel said, he was not too sure of his whereabout, but heard his been visiting the Psychiatric Hospital for treatment.
Consequently, the Court presided over by Rubby Naa Adjeley granted the prosecution’s application for bench warrant for the arrest of Michael Agoha and charged the counsel for the accused to ensure Abdullai Wudu comes to court on the next adjourned date.
Following this, the first prosecution witness, Robert Essumang a caretaker of the NPP Headquarters testified in the matter and was later cross-examined by the counsel for the accused.
The witness said, he was at the headquarters of the party together with other three people of which two were security men and the other also a caretaker, when they heard a knock at the main entrance.
Mr. Essumang said, a security man rushed to the entrance to attend to the people and two in military uniform entered and asked everyone in the premises to come around.
He said they were later locked in a room and after some minutes released and that upon their release, they saw the military men with a fertilizer sack which contained four guns and cutlasses.
The prosecution witness, revealed that they asked them to carry it and later said, they had arrested them for possessing those ammunitions.
He said after some time, they brought in more people wearing red T-shirts to ransack all the offices.
The Prosecution witness cross-examined and after, the court adjourned the case to today, January 12, 2016.
At a court sitting on December 8, the court which issued a bench warrant in the morning for the arrest of five people accused of raiding the New Patriotic Party (NPP) headquarters, withdrew the warrant in the afternoon after the accused rushed to the court for the case to be recalled.
Nii Teiko Ayi-Bontey, Michael Agoha, Shamzu Dinni and Obed Yawson are among the 11 people charged with the offence but were absent in court in the morning.
They rushed to the court in the afternoon after the warrant was issued with the excuse that they were hungry and decided to comb around for food.
Following this, the court, withdrew the bench warrant issued at the request of the prosecution and adjourned the case to December 22.
Source: Reuters
