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National

Seven suspects in Anlo crisis back in remand

A Ho magistrate's court presided over by Mr P.W. Amedior has remanded seven persons arrested in connection with the chieftaincy unrest in Anloga on November 1 in prison custody for the second time. The court refused bail to the accused persons and adjourned to December 7 for the next hearing but advised counsel to apply for bail at the High Court. The accused persons are Yao Agbemakpor, John Kwawu Sefogah, Aaron Agbota, Kwawu Galley, Francis Adzrah, Prince Wisdom Kpodo and Atsu Afedo. They first appeared before the court on November 5 charged with "riot with weapon" and murder. Their pleas were not taken. Arguing for bail for the accused persons, a Ho-based lawyer, Mr Ernest Gaewu, said two of the accused persons, Francis Adzrah and Prince Wisdom Kpodo, were teachers and were nowhere near the incident on the day of the clash. According to him, Adzrah, a staff of Dzita L.A. Primary School, on that day had signed the staff attendance book and sought permission from the head teacher of his school to go to a bank at Keta to transact business when he was arrested in the police swoop who stopped him at Anloga where he had gone to pick a vehicle to Keta. He said Prince Wisdom Kpodo was a staff at the Agorve L.A. Basic School and had signed the attendance book and was on duty that day. Mr Gaewu further argued that the Anlo chieftaincy problem was a matter of the Adzorvia clan and that the accused persons were not related in any way to the clan and, therefore, not worried about who was elected or installed as Awoamefia. He, therefore, argued that they were wrongfully arrested and dumped in prison although they were not related to the clash of November 1. However, the police prosecutor, Mr Peter Glabu, said all those who were arrested were identified and mentioned by eyewitnesses. He dismissed the staff register ten¬dered in court as not authentic and asked the court to set it aside, adding that the police would ascertain its authenticity. Mr Glabu impressed on the court that the case was a sensitive one and that their release would jeopardise investigations and urged the court not to grant them bail. The presiding magistrate asked the prosecution to give the court an effective chance to take its decision and said the alibi by the prosecution could have been checked by now in view of the seriousness of the charges against the accused persons. He said he expected a thorough work to be done by the investigators in order to give the public a fair mind in their judgement of the case. The police arrested 75 persons at Anloga in connection with a bloody clash on November 1 when Mr Francis Nyonyo Agboada was to be installed as Awoamefia of Anlo. After screening, 67 of them were granted a police enquiry bail whilst eight of them were remanded in police custody in Ho. One of the suspects, Israel Kwabla Amenume, died while in police custody, leaving the seven who were arraigned before the court and remanded in prison custody. At the first sitting, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Mr Alfred Agbesi, jointly stood counsel with Mr Gaewu for the accused persons but on the second sitting, Mr Chris Ackummey appeared with Mr Gaewu for the accused. Source: Daily Graphic

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