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.