6 More soldiers arraigned over alleged plot to destabilise Ghana
Six more soldiers, including a woman, have been arraigned before the Kaneshie District Court over the alleged plot to destabilise the country and overthrow the government.
That brings to 11 the number of suspects so far arrested and arraigned before the court in connection with the plot to destabilise the country.
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The six were charged with possession of explosives and arms and ammunition without lawful excuse when they appeared before the court.
They are Lance Corporals Seidu Abubakar, Albert Baba Ibrahim, Sylvester Kpebu, Godwin Nii Ankrah and Ali Solomon, and the only female, whose name was only given as Warrant Officer Class Two (WOII) Esther.
Remanded
Their pleas were not taken and they were remanded to reappear before the court on October 9, 2019, together with the five who had earlier been arraigned before the same court and are on remand at the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
The first group of suspects arrested on September 20 were Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, a medical practitioner; Donya Kafui, alias Ezor, a blacksmith, and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu, a freight manager.
Thereafter, a senior military officer and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) were also picked up and arraigned before the same court on the same charges of allegedly engaging in acts which sought to overthrow the government and destabilise the country.
All the 11 accused persons are alleged to be members of Take Action Ghana (TAG), a group that had allegedly been plotting to attack the Presidency.
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The prosecution
The prosecution told the Kaneshie District Court yesterday that the six soldiers were part of TAG, the group that allegedly planned to “topple the government”.
Sources close to the case said the charge sheet would be amended to include treason and the suspects put before the High Court after investigations.
According to the sources, the appearance of the suspects at the District Court was to remand them for them to assist with investigations and also ensure that the state met the constitutional provision which required accused persons to be produced before court within 48 hours of their arrest.
Alleged plot
The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Sylvester Asare, told the court that TAG planned to organise a series of demonstrations, topple the government and destabilise the country.
He said in July 2019, it engaged the services of Kafui, a blacksmith from the Volta Region, to manufacture arms to enable them to complete their objectives.
Kafui, he explained, charged the group GH¢2,300 for each pistol and GH¢400 for each explosive.
ASP Asare said the blacksmith was brought to the Citadel Hospital in Alajo, Accra to manufacture the arms.
He said Kafui was able to manufacture 22 explosives, six pistols, three hand grenades and some ammunition which he handed over to Dr Mac-Palm, whom he described as the alleged leader of the group.
The prosecutor said based on intelligence, security operatives, on September 23, this year, arrested members of the group and took possession of the arms.
Remand
After making his case, ASP Asare prayed the court to remand the accused persons in the custody of the BNI to assist with investigations.
The court, presided over by Ms Rosemond Dodua Agyiri, remanded the six, but directed the BNI to allow their lawyers and family members have access to them.
Background
A government press statement on Monday, September 23, this year said a joint security operation of personnel drawn from the Defence Intelligence, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the BNI led to the arrest of the three persons and the retrieval of arms, explosive devices and ammunition from locations in Accra.
It explained that surveillance of the activities of the persons involved commenced in June 2018 when Dr Mac-Palm and Ofosu started organising a series of meetings at the Next Door Beach Resort, Teshie, and other locations in Accra, in furtherance of their objectives.