Prosecution Replies Defense in Ya Na Trial

Posted on: www.dailyguidegana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Friday February 25, 2011
The prosecution in the case of 15 men standing trial for the murder of Ya Na Yakubu Andani II, overlord of Dagbon in March 2002, has filed a reply opposing the accused application that they have no case to answer.

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Ms. Gertrude Aikins announced in court yesterday that the prosecution filed a 120-page response on February 21, 2011 to oppose the ‘Submission of No Case’ application that is seeking to have the case discontinued for lack of evidence against them.

She told the court presided over by Justice E.K. Ayebi of the Court of Appeal: “We have filed our reply. We did it religiously and on time”. But Phillip Addison, counsel for the accused told the court that they were not served with the processes filed by the prosecution.

The court then invited Rexford Gyiamah, the Fast Track Courts Registrar to explain to the court the reasons why the processes was not served on defense team and the Registrar told the packed court that the application did not have specific address.

He said as a result it was difficult for the registry to direct the service and subsequently gave a copy of the prosecution’s document to defense counsel.

Defense counsel then asked for an adjournment to enable them to study the prosecution’s reply and file additional submission if possible and the court granted the request and adjourned proceedings until March 4, 2011.

On the next adjourned date, the court is expected to fix a definite date for ruling on whether or not the accused have a case to answer.

Defense counsel declared their intention to file ‘Submission of no case’ when after failing on three occasions to present more witnesses the prosecution officially closed its case on November 5, 2010 and the court granted the request and asked them to file it by November 23, 2011.

However, just as the motion for “Submission of No Case” was to be moved, the prosecution on November 18, 2010 filed “an application to re-open its case and tender recording through witness.”

The affidavit, claimed the sixth accused person in the case, Alhassan Braimah is said to have been recorded by one Moses Nsor, an ex-security officer, confessing that he (Braimah) killed the Ya Na.

As a result there was a long argument as to whether or not the prosecution should allowed to re-open the case to adduce additional evidence but the court on December 17, 2010 threw out the prosecution’s application saying they were in possession of the very evidence they are seeking to adduce but failed to bring it before closing its case.

All the other accused persons, except Zakaria Yakubu aka Zakaria Forest, the seventh suspect who is currently at large, were in court.

They have all pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and with Forest (A7) facing an additional charge of murder.

They are currently on remand in police custody except Iddrisu Iddi aka Mbadugu due to old age.

Those on trial are Iddrisu Iddi aka Mbadugu, Alhaji Baba Abdulai Iddrisu aka Zohe, Kwame Alhassan aka Achiri, Mohamadu Abdulai aka Samasama, Sayibu Mohammed, Alhassan Braimah and Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tijani, 45, former DCE of Yendi as second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth accused persons respectively.

The rest are Baba Ibrahim aka Baba Zey, Alhassan Mohammed aka Mohammed Cheampon, Mohammed Mustapha, Shani Imoro, Yakubu Yusif aka Leftee and Hammed Abukari Yussif and Abdul Razak Yussif aka Nyaa as 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th accused persons respectively.