Prosecutors in the case concerning the murder of the former Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, J. B. Danquah-Adu, have announced that the bill of indictment is ready, meaning that the case can now be ushered into the trial stage.
After more than a year of investigations, adjournments and waiting on the Attorney-General (A-G) to give advice on the docket, the prosecution last Wednesday gave the strongest indication yet that progress was being made on the case.
The prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Mr Francis Baah, informed the court that the A-G had given its final advice on the case docket.
“Based on the advice, the bill of indictment is ready. It is the process of serving the indictment to the accused persons that is in progress,’’ he said.
The case has been at the committal stage at the Accra Central District Court for more than a year and it is yet to commit the accused persons to stand trial at the High Court.
The bill of indictment contains the charges that have been levelled against the two accused persons allegedly involved in the murder.
After the two accused persons have been served with a copy to know the charges that they will face, the District Court will then proceed to evaluate the charges and the evidence levelled against them.
Based on the evaluation, the court will then decide whether or not to commit the accused persons to stand trial at the High Court.
Charges
Per the advice given by the A-G, the first accused person, Daniel Asiedu, has been charged with murder and robbery, while Vincent Bosso, the second accused, has been charged with abetment to commit robbery.
Supt Baah assured the court that all the documents necessary for the concluding stages of the committal would be ready at the next adjourned date.
“I want to assure the court that we will have everything the next time we come to court,’’ he said.
The magistrate, Mr Ebenezer Kweku Ansah, adjourned the case to March 2, 2017, with a directive to the prosecution to furnish the two accused persons with a copy of the bill of indictment.
“Ensure that they get a copy of the bill of indictment before you come to court,’’ he said.
Facts
The facts of the case, as presented by the prosecution, were that the MP, Mr Danquah-Adu, lived with his family in a one-storey house at Shiashie, near East Legon, in Accra, while Asiedu and Bosso lived at Agbogbloshie, also in Accra.
About 11:40 p.m. on February 8, 2016, the MP arrived home and went to bed in a room located on the first floor of his house.
About 1 a.m. that same night, Asiedu and Bosso, armed with a catapult, a cutter and a sharp knife, went to the legislator’s house.
Bosso is said to have assisted Asiedu to enter the house by scaling the on the blind side of a security man who was fast asleep. On entering the house, Asiedu climbed onto a porch on the top floor with a ladder and entered the MP’s bedroom through a window.
While Asiedu was searching the room, the MP woke up and held him. There ensued a struggle, during which Asiedu stabbed the MP in the right chest above the breast. The MP consequently held the knife, and Asiedu pulled it through the MP’s hand, making a deep cut in his palm.
The legislator, who bled profusely, fell by his bed, after which Asiedu stabbed him several times on his right chest and neck.
On realising that the MP was dying, Asiedu left the room and took with him three iPhone smartphones.
Meanwhile, the struggle between the MP and Asiedu had drawn the attention of the security man in the house, who alerted other security men in the neighbourhood.
Having been alerted to the impending danger, Bosso took to his heels, leaving Asiedu behind. However, Asiedu managed to descend from the top of the house and jumped over the electric fencing on the walls of the house into an adjoining house and escaped.
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