Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 2 July 2015

Source: Daily Guide

Court bails Akuse notorious robbers

Ebenezer Yaw(right) and Tanko Charles Ebenezer Yaw(right) and Tanko Charles

It has been gathered that the two suspected armed robbers who were arrested for allegedly terrorizing the residents of Kpong and put before the Odumase circuit court, presided over by Justice Frank Gbeddy, have been granted bail.

DAILY GUIDE in its May 27, 2015 edition, indicated that the suspects, Ebenezer Yaw, 24, a social worker and Tanko Charles, 24, unemployed, were arrested by the Akuse police for allegedly butchering a watchman on May 3, 2015 and made away with GHc1,500, iPad and visa belonging to Mariam Musa, a spare parts dealer at Kpong, in the Lower Manya Municipality of the Eastern Region.

The complainant, Mariam Musa, unhappy about the basis on which the court granted the bail application, accused the investigator, Yahaya Zakari, who was stationed at Kpong and the prosecutor, A.S. Yeboah of the Akosombo Divisional Police Command, of taking bribes from the suspects’ relatives to facilitate the granting of bail.

She told DAILY GUIDE that her life was in danger as the suspects had been released, and called on the Chief Justice and the Attorney General to intervene for justice to be done.

According to Mariam, the investigator and the prosecutor gave her a wrong date for the court sitting and so when the suspects appeared before the court without her, they were granted bail and the case adjourned.

Mariam Musa said that the investigator told her brother that the suspects’ relatives wanted to meet her and give her an amount of GHc6,000 for a settlement of the case out of court, but she refused and thereafter, all that she heard was that the suspects had been granted bail.

Meanwhile, when DAILY GUIDE contacted the investigator, Yahaya Zakari on Monday for verification or otherwise of the matter, he asked the reporter to speak to the prosecutor since the latter had the docket. However, the prosecutor, A.S. Yeboah, said he was not aware of any such case, and also directed the reporter to contact the investigator again. It was not clear what the two police officers were up to.