GRi in Court Ghana
18 - 08 - 2000
419
leader remanded in custody
Driver
jailed six months for killing 12-year-old girl
Prampram Mantse jailed for contempt.
419 leader remanded in custody
Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 August 2000
An Accra
Circuit Tribunal on Thursday remanded Martin Oje, 30, leader of a fraud
syndicate known as 419 in prison custody for possessing various security letter
heads.
Oje, a
Nigerian has been charged with attempt to commit fraud. He pleaded not guilty
and will reappear on August 21.
The
tribunal chaired by Mr. Imoro Ziblim heard that the Fraud Squad of the Police
got information about some Nigerians at Dansoman in Accra suspected to be
members of a fraud syndicate known as 419 operating in the country.
On July 13
this year, a team of investigators went to a house at Dansoman where Oje and
three others were arrested.
When their
rooms were searched various Letter heads and envelopes bearing the addresses of
the Federal Ministry of Finance, Abuja, Standard Diplomatic Insurance and
Security Company, Sky Bird Monetary Organisation were found.
Also found
were letters marked "Strictly Confidential", a letter introducing the
accused as a Nigerian Customs Officer and another introducing one Albert
Suleman as the first born of a former Sierra Leonean minister among others.
GRi/
Driver jailed six months for killing 12-year-old girl
Accra
(Greater Accra) 18 August 2000
An Accra
Circuit Tribunal on Thursday sentenced a driver to six months imprisonment with
hard labour for knocking down and killing a 12-year-old girl with a car he was
driving.
The
tribunal ordered him to pay compensation of 15.3 million cedis to the girl's
family.
Jacob Larbi
pleaded not guilty to careless driving, causing harm and the use of uninsured
motor vehicle.
The
tribunal chaired by Mr. Mohammed Nabo ordered that an arrest warrant be issued
against an accomplice, Kojo Acheampong, who is on the run.
Police
Chief Inspector Isaac Kojo Awere prosecuting said at about 5:50pm on November
2, 1998, Larbi was driving a car from Mamprobi towards Accra.
When he
reached Korle-Bu, he stopped to give way to the girl, Celestina Amenuvor.
However, as
the girl was crossing the road, Larbi knocked her down and she died instantly.
The
prosecutor said police investigations showed that the vehicle used by the
accused was not insured and that it was Acheampong who gave it to Larbi to
drive on that day.
GRi/
Prampram Mantse jailed for contempt.
Tema
(Greater Accra) 18 August 2000
Nene
Tetteh Djan III, Paramount Chief of Prampram Traditional Area was on Thursday
convicted and sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment for contempt of a Tema High
Court.
The
Court presided over by Mr. Justice K. K Acquaye found him guilty of wilfully
refusing to obey the court's order of February 17, to submit certain accounting
books in his possession to facilitate the auditing of the accounts of the
Prampram Traditional Council.
After
the sentence was passed, the chief, who looked calm in his own seat that was
carried to the court, was taken in a taxi to the Nsawan Medium Security prison
to begin his term.
The
Traditional Council represented by Mr. George Heward-Mills filed a writ asking
the court to compel the chief to release all accounting books in his possession
for the auditing of the traditional council's account.
This
followed an initial audit check, which revealed that an amount of 160.4 million
cedis allegedly taken from the council's treasury by the Paramount Chief could
not be accounted for.
Mr.
Justice Acquaye noted that Nene Tetteh Djan devised various strategies to
deliver some of those documents in piecemeal and at his own convenience well
outside the period given him or chose not to deliver them at all.
At
a point, the Chief said some of the documents were with one Shippi Ashilley but
he later brought them to the court without any explanation.
"Since
the order, there has been a systematic and continuous attempts by the
respondents to throw dust into the eyes of the public by making conflicting
presentations to frustrate the auditing of the traditional council," he
observed.
Mr.
Justice Acquaye said, these were acts to bring authority of the court into
disrepute and, therefore, ruled that the conduct of the chief was clearly a
contempt of court.
Meanwhile,
reports from Prampram indicated that some people took to the streets to
jubilate over the incarceration of their chief.
Mr.
Pat Quaye, counsel for the chief, who had argued that his client did not
deliberately refuse to submit the books but had genuine difficulties, said he
would appeal against the sentence.
GRi/