Your client tried to escape by attempting to seduce a civilian employee – Witness
Major General Nicholas Peter Andoh, second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of ten persons for high treason, says Warrant Officer Class Two (WOII) Esther Saan planned to escape from military custody.
He said she attempted seducing a civilian employee in order to escape from military custody.
Major General Andoh, Director General of Defense Intelligence of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), told the High Court that it was very intriguing because the reality is that she tried to escape and adopted all tricks including attempting to seduce a civilian driver working with the Defense Mechanical and Transport Battalion.
Prior to that she feigned sickness when in custody (Signal Regiment Guardroom) seeking to be admitted at the 37 Military Hospital and we asked that she should be handcuffed when we knew she was making it up just to run away.
Major General Andoh was answering a question by Mr Lamtiig Apanga, lawyer for WOII Saan on whether as the leader of the surveillance team, he received a complaint of sexual abuse on her while she was in custody?
Major Gen. Andoh told the High Court that he received the complaint on Friday, July 9, 2021, adding that it was intriguing.
He said when the Military Police (MP) went to the hospital, the doctor in charge told them that Esther was not sick, thus, she was returned to the guardroom and that her location was changed when she tried to seduce the driver.
The second prosecution witness said WOII Saan was changed again to the Reccee guardroom and when “I visited her, she apologised and indicated that she was ashamed” and that he was surprised that that was now coming as a complaint.
However, he was quick to add that the MP had received the report on the alleged attempted seduction.
The lawyer said the guardroom was one of the secured places where a suspect was kept under lock and key but did not understand how a civilian employee, could get access to the place as late as 2300 hours when the alleged incident took place.
Suspect, Major General Andoh said, did not stay there 24 hours as she was moved out from time to time to bathe, meet visitors or eat, stating that in that situation, the authorities suspected there was a collision, therefore her location was changed five times.
Mr Lamtiig challenged that the only way Samuel Kotei, the said driver, could have access to the cells was to enter the cells.
The lawyer alleged that when WOII Saan was in military custody, Major General Andoh paid her a number of visits as part of his work, one of which he interacted with her husband to convince her to change her statement to implicate the others in order to gain her freedom.
Major General Andoh debunked it and said the significant conversation he had with the husband was on the fact that they were all Catholics but since the matter was serious there was nothing one could do about it.
He added that he made his visits with the personal assistant, one Phylis Mapram and in all the interactions, he called the guard commandant as well as the guards on duty to witness.
Mr Lamtiig challenged the witness that his client was not part of the plot to overthrow the government and that she did not recruit any soldier, that she could not organise for weapons because she was enrolled as a cook.
The Major General said per the evidence in the video recordings she was heard calling the soldiers “my boys” and even asked for their remuneration as she said what they were embarking on was risky, stressing that every soldier could have access to a weapon if granted permission.
Dr Mac Palm, Donyo, Debrah, Assistant Commissioner of Police Benjamin Korsi Agordzo, Warrant Officer Class ll Esther Saan, Colonel Gameli, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, Lance Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon and Johannes Zipkui, a civilian staff at GAF are facing charges including conspiracy to commit high treason, high treason and abetment but have all have denied the offences and they have all been granted bail.
They are being tried by a three-member-panel of judges: Justice Hafisata Amaleboba, Justice Anthony Oppong and Justice Afia Serwaa Asare-Botwe, presiding.
Source: GNA