Crime & Punishment of Thursday, 10 October 2013

Source: Daily Guide

Nima gangster remanded

A 20-year-old tailor, who allegedly inflicted cutlass wounds on the arm of a security officer for preventing him from being part of a birthday party ceremony organized at Nima, has been remanded into police custody by an Accra Circuit Court.

The accused person, Wahabu Sita alias Euro, was charged with use of offensive weapon at the court presided over by Ellen Amoah.

His lawyer, George Asamaney, prayed the court to grant the accused person bail because the offence was not one for which bail could be denied.

However, the trial judge declined, saying “given the general manner in which the accused was apprehended in his friend’s room after a diligent search by the police coupled with the nature of the evidence in support of the accusation” Wahabu was unlikely to stand trial when granted bail.

Ms Amoah therefore remanded him to re-appear on October 30.

The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Jubiok Michaels, presenting the facts of the case, disclosed that the complainant is Christian Asante Sasu, a security man who lives at Nima whilst the accused Wahabu Sita alias Euro is a tailor living at Mamprobi.

He narrated that on September 26, 2013, a lady at Nima was celebrating her birthday and contracted the security officer and some others to man the gate at the venue of the ceremony.

The ceremony, the prosecutor said, was to be attended strictly by invitation and the complainant’s duty was to verify the invitees before allowing them in.

Around 1:00am on September 27, 2013 whilst the ceremony was ongoing, Wahabu, together with his friends, came there but complainant prevented them from entering as they were not invited.

Wahabu, the prosecutor stated, became offended and engaged one of the people manning the gate in a fight.

People around then separated the two but Wahabu reportedly went home, picked a cutlass, hid it in his clothes and came back to venue of the party intending to harm the one he had fought with.

However, the accused who could not find the said person, in a furious manner, allegedly pulled out the cutlass and walked towards the complainant.

Sensing danger, the complainant ran to the ceremony grounds but Wahabu chased him with the cutlass and cut off the left middle and forth fingers.

The accused, Wahabu, the prosecutor said, used the cutlass to slash complainant’s left arm. While Christian was running away, he fell down and the accused rushed on him and slashed his waist.

Inspector Jubiok Michaels said the complainant managed to report the matter to the Nima Police.

He was subsequently issued with a police medical report form to attend hospital.

The complainant has since been discharged from the hospital after treatment.

Wahabu allegedly went into hiding after committing the offence but on October 2, 2013, he accused was arrested from his hideout.