The Criminal Division of the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has been told that the Lead Investigator at the CID Headquarters who investigated the kidnapping case of two Canadian girls is dead.
Samson Agharlor, alias Romeo, Jeff Omarsar, Elvis Ojiyowe and Yusif Yakubu have been charged among other things for unlawful imprisonment.
They have pleaded not guilty and are standing trial for the offences.
In court on Friday, July 9, Detective Corporal Augustine Dery, one of the investigators told the court that, the lead investigator Chief Inspector Matthew Anokye died on May 4, 2021.
Detective Dery made the disclosure when he was giving his Evidence-In-Chief as the 11th Prosecution Witness in the ongoing trial.
The Witness told the court that he is a police officer with the Ghana police service stationed at the Anti-Armed Robbery Unit of CID headquarters in Accra.
He said, he’s been at the unit for six years, but has been a police officer for 12 years.
The witness told the court that, he knew all the accused know all the accused persons.
“I was part of a team of investigators who investigated a kidnapping case of the accused persons and others.
“My Lord, Myself and Chief Inspector Chief Matthew Anokye who was the Lead Investigator. Chief Inspector Anokye is dead. He died on May 4, 2021. I have with me the invitation to the funeral of Chief Inspector Anokye and identified the Invitation Card to prove that, the Chief Inspector was dead,” he told the court.
“We had a good working relationship as we were in the same unit, aside from investigating this case as a team, we have also worked together in other cases,” the witness said of the late Chief Inspector.
The witness also told the court, “I have had a professional working relationship with him for six years.”
Signature and handwriting
He told the court that, he was “familiar with the signature of the late Chief Inspector Anokye as well as his handwriting.”
According to him, by way of investigating this case, the late Chief Inspector Anokye was the Lead Investigator, and so he did most of the investigative work.
‘My Lord, he was the one who cautioned and obtained further investigations cautioned statement of the accused persons and others after the BNI has handed over to us.
According to him, the late Chief Inspector “forwarded the 10 mobile phones to the Cyber Crime Unit for Forensic Analysis. Again, he forwarded the weapons to the ballistic experts for examination. I know that he gave a statement on investigations and followed it up by giving the witness statement to the office of AG. What I have stated is not exhaustive of all that he did. what I have mentioned is what readily comes to me.”
Evidence Act
The State Attorney prior to tendering the statement through the witness, made reference to Section 118/116 of the Evidence (Act1975) NRCD 232 to tender the statement of Chief Inspector Anokye through the investigator on the box.
BNI investigations
Touching on how investigations were done the witness said, on June 17, 2019, “BNI handed over the accused persons and others and some exhibits to my unit for investigations.”
Regarding the said others, he told the court that, “the accused persons before you, there were others that we brought along with the accused and they are Sofianu Abubakar, Abdul Nasir, Seidu Abubakar MBA, and Abdul Suleiman alias Wofa.”
Exhibits
He told the court that, “the BNI handed over to the investigation team 10 mobile phones of different names four ID which were labeled names of some of the accused persons before you and others with the case titled.
“My Lord, three pistols of different name, 52 rounds of live ammunition, six spend shells, one grenade, a metal box, some personal belongings of the accused and the victims. Three ID cards including one bearing the name Samson Agharlor and a Toyota Corolla, vehicle with registration number AS6149-19 Which they had retrieved as part of their investigations.”
“Aside from handling over of exhibits and accused, what else did BNI tell you. They told us how the accused persons and others were arrested as well as his they came by the exhibits.
“My the BNI informed the investigative team that, two pistols ie Retay Baron and Modle were received from A2 and A3.
“The one grenade they told us that was retrieved at the premises of Amoam in the Ashanti region which A2 and A3 had held the two Canadian girls captive in Amoam.
“With regards to the 52 rounds of ammunition, the BNi briefed the investigative team that three ammunitions were retrieved in Siedu Abubakri’s room alias MBA as well as the third pistol Carl Walter were retrieved in Siedu-s room.
“My Lord, the three ID cards including the one bearing the name Samson Agharlor and the metal box were retrieved in Amaon where A2 and A3 have held captive of the two Canadian girls,” he told the court.
With regards to the Toyota Corolla, “the BNI visited one of the scenes at Nshiaso in Kumasi where the two girls were abducted that they had obtained a CCTV footage nearby and in the footage, they saw the Toyota corolla car and followed up to the film in Kumasi to follow the particular.”
He told the court that, “the BNI later found the said vehicle in a mechanism shop and when the mechanic had moved the vehicle, the BNI trailed the vehicle…When the mechanic was questioned, he mentioned a particular name.”
The BNI asked him to call the said name and that was where Abdul Ramayana Suleiman alias woman surface as the owner and was arrested.
Abdul Raman Suleiman then told the BNI that A4 came to rent the vehicle.
The case has been adjourned to July 16, 2021.
