Produce Four Legon Boys

Amina Haruna

AN ACCRA Circuit court judge, Georgina Mensah-Datsa, has ordered lawyers in the case of the University of Ghana students who indecently assaulted a suspected thief, Amina Haruna, to produce four of the suspects who are alleged to be on the run.

The judge asked that the four- Alexander Aryee, Benedict Boamah, Jesse Boamah and Edward Tsitoh- be sent to the police station for their statements to be taken and officially be charged.

This followed a request by their lawyers that a bench warrant should not be issued against them as they could make them available to the police.

The four suspects were absent on the first sitting so DSP Kofi Blagodzi, the prosecutor,  when the case was called yesterday, prayed for a bench warrant to arrest them after  observing that they were not present in court.

According to the prosecutor, he needed the four in other to charge all the accused persons officially. He also informed the court that Amina, the victim, was indisposed.

However, Thomas Aubin, one of the accused lawyers, expressed surprise at prosecution's submission that the four students were at large and could not be found.

According to him, the students, who appeared before the University Disciplinary Committee, were not in court because they had not been warned to do so.

DSP Blagodzi, on the other hand, said it was wrong for the defence to create the impression that they had not been warned as the police had written to the university authorities about them and yet, they failed to show up in court.

In response, Mr. Aubin said, 'Writing to the university does not mean they should appear before the court. These students can be produced. They just finished writing their examination.'

Mr. Rockson Mawusi, another lawyer, also assured the court that there would be no need issuing a bench warrant and that they would join forces to produce the accused persons on the next adjourned date.  Following this, the judge adjourned the case to June 20.

Currently, nine of the students are in the dock facing charges of conspiracy to commit crime, assault by imprisonment, indecent assault and causing unlawful harm.

They have been accused of unlawfully locking up Amina Haruna in a room at Mensah Sarbah Hall Annex B where they inserted their fingers into her private parts, leading to her bleeding. They have pleaded not guilty and are on a GH¢9,000 bail.

The accused persons are Francis Wiredu Attah, Tornu Mark Dickson, Morris Awuregya, Nana Osei Asiamah, Gideon Agyei Ayiridaga, Aboyadana Amobilla, Afeatse Godfred, Evans Addai Boateng and Obed Banini.

DSP Kofi Blagodzi, who presented the facts of the case, told the court that the complainant was a petty trader residing at Madina while the accused persons were students of University of Ghana, Legon.

According to him, on Wednesday, March 30, 2011, at about 11:30pm, the complainant, Amina Haruna, was accused at the Mensah Sarbah Hall Annex B of stealing a laptop and mobile phone belonging to one of the students.

He said after the items were retrieved from the complainant, she was locked up in a room until 3am when she was brought out and beaten severely, after which she was stripped, with some of the students forcibly inserting their fingers into her vagina.

The prosecutor said Amina bled profusely before the campus security came to her rescue and handed her over to the police who in turn gave her a form to attend hospital for treatment, after she reported her ordeal to them.

He stated that after she was treated and discharged, the police realised that video recordings and photographs of her had been distributed to media houses and also put on the internet by some of the students.

The police officer said the accused persons were identified in photographs and later at an identification parade held at the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters by the complainant.

He said the students, after their arrest, denied the offence in their caution statements and were arraigned after police investigations.

As usual, hundreds of their colleagues were in court to show solidarity.

By Mary Anane