Court grants three persons bail for unlawful possession of police accoutrements
An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to three persons in the sum of GH¢80,000.00 each with three sureties for unlawful possession of police accoutrements and abetment of crime.
The Court ordered that one of the sureties should be a public servant.
John Essel Baah, aged 49 and Enock Kwame Bosempem, aged 45, were also charged with “falsely pretending to be a public officer,” an offence they pleaded not guilty to.
Warrant Officer 1 (Rtd) Ebenezer Painstil, aged 53, was also charged with abetment of crime, an offence he pleaded not guilty.
The Court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah adjourned the case to June 14, 2022.
Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fuseini Yakubu told the Court that on April 27, 2022, the Police operational department received a report that some persons dressed in police-like manner had arrived at Okaikoi South, where the New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives’ election was ongoing.
The report also indicated that Baah, Bosempem and WO1 Painstil were intimidating the electorate and were also interfering with the work of the electoral officers.
The Prosecution said on receipt of the report, a team of police officers led by the Director-General Operation, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Suraj Mohammed, proceeded to the scene.
It said the team arrived at the scene and met the accused persons dressed in police accoutrements.
The Prosecution said the accused persons were arrested and a search conducted disclosed two Police handcuffs, two AK47 jack knives, two teasers and three Gotas sets.
It said preliminary investigations had it that, the accused persons dressed in the said apparel arrived at the Election Centre and introduced themselves to the electoral officers and electorates as National Security Officers.
The Prosecution said further investigations revealed that the accused persons were not Police or National Security Officers, as they claimed.
During interrogation, Mr Baah and Mr Bosempem indicated that WO1 Painstil provided them with the accoutrements and deployed them to hold themselves as officers at the Election Centre whereas they were not officers, he said.
Source: GNA