The wife of the late Ibrahim Mohammed Abass has informed the Kaneshie District Court ‘2’, presided over by Rosemond Agyiri Doudua, that the accused persons linked to the murder of her husband had allegedly presented an undisclosed amount of money to the National Chief Imam to be given to her.
She prayed the court yesterday to inquire from the accused persons as to who among them was a traditional ruler and why they wanted to present the said amount of money to her through the Chief Imam.
Her Honour Doudua, however, urged her to liaise with the prosecutor to properly address the court on the issue and other related matters.
She educated the widow that in court proceedings there were orders that needed to be followed strictly, and her court was not different.
The police prosecuting officer, Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, concurred and assured the court that he would ensure that the right things would be done.
He also prayed the court to adjourn the hearing, since the investigator handling the case was away on Sabbatical; therefore, it has been transferred to another investigator who needed time to study it.
The court upheld the prosecution’s prayer, which was seconded by counsel for the accused persons, and adjourned the case.
Background
The Chief of Klagon, Nii Bortey Klan I, a.k.a. Samuel Nii Bortey Kofi, together with 10 others, has been charge for the alleged murder of one Ibrahim Mohammed Abass over land issues.
Abass, who was once a close confidant and very instrumental person in Nii Bortey Klan I’s traditional administration, was allegedly killed by land guards on the instructions of the Chief on November 15, 2020 in Accra.
Nii Bortey Klan I, and his alleged group of land guards, namely Hamidu Fuseini alias Sankara, unemployed, Tahiru Mamudu aka Tsikata, unemployed, Haruna Yakubu, unemployed, Latif Moro Kwaku Anane aka Kobo, unemployed, Richard Annang Kotey, movie actor, Nii Odiko Laryea Famite aka George Laryea, traditional ruler, Abdul Baasi Mohammed aka Awudu Buju- at large, Yahaya Mohammed aka Olu, at large, and Osmanu Ibrahim aka OC, at large, had been arraigned for conspiracy to commit a crime and murder.
All the accused persons, expect those at large, pleaded not guilty to the charges and have currently been granted bail.
The court was informed that the fallout between the two (the Chief and the deceased) followed a decision by the deceased to develop a piece of land at Klong Ramsar Site, which, apparently, the Chief claimed to have sold to someone else.
The confusion led to a struggle and protracted litigation at Klagon, as the deceased left the Chief’s camp to join the opposing faction.
The assumed betrayal on the part of the deceased and other related incidents of having a hand in the seizure of unaccustomed vehicles from the Chief’s house, allegedly resulted in the plot to eliminate him.
Similarly, the insistence of the deceased on developing the land resulted in a physical confrontation between him and the accused persons,who destroyed footings he started on the land amidst threats on his life.
It was alleged that in order for the Chief to execute his plan, Latif Moro and Kwaku Anane aka Kobo, Hamidu Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara and their accomplices met in the house of Nii Bortey Klan I on November 15, 2020, in the morning at Klagon.
The court was told that at the said meeting, Nii Bortey Klan Iallegedly instructed Hamidu Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara to lead Latif Moro and three others to the deceased’s house to dig a trench across his main gate, purposely to prevent him from getting out of his house with a car.
However, later in the day, it was said that when the deceased was informed by a witness in the case, he instructed the witness to cover it with sand, but he was prevented by one of the accused persons who was now at large.
Regrettably, at about 3:00 pm the same day, the deceased left his house on a motorbike, and about 100 metres away from his residence, he was attacked by Hamidu Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara, Awudu Buju and two others.
It was alleged that the deceased was kidnapped amidst gunfire, and put into Hamidu Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara’s private 4 x 4 Kia vehicle in which he was conveyed to an unknown destination.
The deceased’s son, who allegedly chanced upon the incident, reported it to his mother who also immediately informed the Klagon Police District Headquarters.
Unfortunately, the District Police Commander allegedly placed a phone call to Hamidu Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara to produce the victim at the Klagon District Headquarters, but he ignored the directives and allegedly killed the victim and later dumped his lifeless body in a bush within the Klagon vicinity.
The body was later discovered by the police and conveyed to the Police Hospital Mortuary, where a post mortem examination was performed on it by Dr. Stephen Annan and Dr. Osei Owusu-Afriyie, who gave the preliminary cause of death as “Asphyxiation, Strangulation, and Suspected Homicide.” The pathologists concluded that the deceased died of unnatural cause.
Hamidu Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara was later arrested on November 18, 2020 and police investigations led to the arrest of Tahiru Mamudu aka Tsikata, Haruna, Latif and Kwaku, but the others had fled the Klagon community.
Ongoing investigations revealed that after the deceased was kidnapped into Fuseini a.k.a. Sankara’s vehicle, he was driven to the Chief’s house and later taken to the Klagon Ramsar Site where he was tortured to death.
Efforts are underway to arrest the accomplices as investigations continue.
