Self-styled Mallam remanded for fraud
Accra (Greater Accra) 15 June 2001
The Osu Community Tribunal on Thursday refused bail for the second time to a Belize national, Albert Hamid Odinga who is accused of communicating false information about the state.
Security personnel in a special operation at Ridge, Accra, arrested Odinga, 59, a journalist, for alleged counter intelligence activities.
His plea was not taken and he was remanded in custody to reappear on June 21.
Mr Wahid Bampuori Iddrisu, Counsel for Odinga, pleaded with the tribunal chaired by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills to grant his client bail, saying he would not impede investigations.
However, Chief Inspector Margaret Awuni said if the accused was granted bail he might impede the investigations and asked the tribunal to give the BNI two weeks to complete its investigations.
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Kade (Eastern Region) 15 June 2001
Yaa Yaago, a 28-year-old housewife has made her second appearance before the Kade Community Tribunal charged with murdering her husband, Kwabena Acquah, 36.
The tribunal chaired by Mr Oppong Quao remanded Yaago, whose plea was not taken in prison custody until June 19.
Chief Inspector Atidzon had told the court that on May 14, a misunderstanding between the couple over Acquah's alleged extra-marital affair resulted in a quarrel at Akyem Wenchi.
Yaago, the Prosecution said, picked a pestle and wanted to hit Acquah with it but was restrained by some people from doing so.
Moments later, while Acquah was explaining the cause of the misunderstanding to some friends, Yaago hit him on the forehead with a stick, knocking him unconscious.
In the midst of the confusion, Yaago bolted while her husband was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Chief Inspector Atidzon said the pathologist's report on Acquah has not yet been received.
He explained that on receipt of the report, a duplicate docket would be prepared and sent to the Attorney General's Department for advice.
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Asamankese (Eastern Region) 15 June 2001
A-35-year-old driver, who allegedly knocked a 13-year-old boy with his taxicab, killing him instantly in the Eastern Region and dumped the body in the bush in the Central Region has been arraigned at the Asamankese Circuit Court.
Sampson Awuah, whose plea was not taken, was remanded in prison custody until June 15.
He is charged with driving on the road without due care and attention and negligently and unlawfully causing harm to Master Evans Obadae Basare, the boy.
Chief Inspector Alhassan Amadu, prosecuting, told the court, presided over by Mr S. S. Appiah that Awuah, an Accra-based taxi driver on May 20, drove his Hyundai Excel taxicab with registration number GW 6824 Q from Accra towards Asamankese with one person on board.
On reaching Asikasu on Nsawam-Asamankese motor road, regardless of other users of the road knocked down Master Basare, who was walking on the near edged of the road. He died on the spot.
Awuah then lifted Basare into his vehicle and sped off to a destination unknown to the boy's relatives.
The relatives of Basare, the prosecutor said followed up to the Asamankese Government hospital but neither the body of the deceased nor the vehicle was found. They then followed up to Swedru, Winneba and Nsawam hospitals but to no avail
Chief Inspector Amadu said, on May 21, a farmer at Mankrong Junction in the Central Region went to his maize farm to work but to his amazement found the body of Basare on the farm.
He informed Mankrong Junction Police, who went for the body and deposited it at the Winneba hospital mortuary for identification and autopsy.
Asikasu Police were later informed and the father of Basare, Mr Kwasi Kumah identified the body as that of his son, who was knocked down by a vehicle on May 20.
Autopsy was performed on the body and released to the relatives for burial.
On May 29, Awuah, who had earlier told his car owner that he knocked down a goat later confessed that he had knocked down a human being and not a goat and since the incident, he was being haunted making him unable to sleep.
Following the confession, the car owner, a soldier handed him over to the Cantonment's Police in Accra and was subsequently handed over to Asikasu Police for investigation.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 15 June 2001
A Nigerian trader who was arrested by security personnel at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) for possessing 28 cello-taped balls of whitish substance suspected to be narcotic drugs on Thursday appeared before the Osu Community Tribunal charged with possessing and exporting narcotic drugs.
The tribunal chaired by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills did not take the plea of Ude Kalu Oleka, who was remanded to reappear on June 21.
Chief Inspector Margaret Awuni said during a routine search on June 10 on the body of the accused and his luggage, the cello-taped whitish substance was found concealed in a pair of white socks in a carrier bag.
The prosecution said when the accused was interrogated he disclosed that one Emeka, another Nigerian, gave him the substance after buying him an air ticket to travel to London.
The accused said Emeka did not tell him of the content of the parcel but gave him his telephone number to contact him when he arrived in London, the prosecution said.
Police are still investigating.
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Self-styled Mallam remanded for fraud
Techiman (Brong Ahafo) 15 June 2001
Alhaji Baba Ali, a 19-year-old driver and a self-styled Mallam, has been remanded in prison custody by the Techiman Circuit Tribunal for defrauding two farmers of 2.5 million cedis.
Ali pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretences.
Police Chief Inspector Samson Jebuni told the tribunal, presided over by Mr. Justice Nicholas Abodakpi, that in May this year Ali and Salifu Baka (at large) approached the two farmers, Ahmed Abu and Nicholas Osei and told them that they were soothsayers who could locate gold dust buried on their farms by their ancestors.
The farmers became interested and readily paid 600,000 cedis demanded by the accused for the purchase of a red cock, a piece of cloth, cigarettes and Alla-Bama Oil to perform some rituals.
Chief Inspector Jebuni said the farmers took Ali and Baka to their farms at Tanoso.
Two days later, the accused accompanied the farmers back to Tanoso where after digging at a spot on the farm, Baka brought out a pot full of sand sprinkled with some yellowish pieces of metal.
The prosecutor said the accused slaughtered the cock and took the pot away.
Later Ali picked one of the yellowish metals and went with Abu to a goldsmith's in Kumasi, where it was assayed as gold.
Chief Inspector Jebuni said when they returned to Techiman, Ali demanded four million cedis from the farmers to purchase a bottle of Florida water with which to purify the pot before they could use the metals.
The farmers could only pay 1.9 million cedis, so the accused gave them the "pot of gold" but warned them not to tamper with it until it was purified.
On arrival at Tanoso, the complainants unwrapped the gold but found it to be different from the one tested at the goldsmith's.
Chief Inspector Jebuni said the farmers became suspicious and removed another piece of the yellowish metal from the pot and sent it to the same goldsmith in Kumasi who said it was iron.
The farmers reported the matter to the police.
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