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25.11.2008 Elections

'Bomber' Is NDC

By Daily Guide
'Bomber' Is NDC
25.11.2008 LISTEN

Reports reaching DAILY GUIDE indicate that the owner of the firecrackers which caught fire at a warehouse and claimed 6 lives at Anyaa in Accra last week has a link with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The family house of Janet Akani Sabah at Awoshie, a suburb of Accra, is a bastion of the NDC and is currently draped in the party colours, contrary to earlier resentment expressed by the main opposition party over the killer firecrackers.

According to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Campaign Communications Chair, Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy, it was erroneous therefore for the NDC to create the impression that the ruling NPP had imported ammunitions into the country with a view to rigging the forthcoming polls.

“The woman at the centre of the Anyaa fire incident comes from an NDC family. It would therefore sound strange if the party tries to create the impression that the NPP is behind the incident,” he said.

The Police had already discounted the NDC claim in its preliminary report on the incident, he recalled, adding that “all should allow the Police to complete its investigations before such jumping to conclusions”.

This development is coming on the heels of the NDC hullabaloo about the incident, as it claimed the ruling party had a hand in the incident.

The suspect, Janet Akani Sabah, who is at the centre of the Anyaa fire, was yesterday put before an Accra Circuit Court.

The suspect, who is also called Dele by her siblings, voluntarily turned herself in last Tuesday and was charged with possession of firecrackers without lawful authority while her plea was not taken.

This was after the prosecuting officer, ACP Elizabeth Allandu, had told the court that the prosecution team was in doubt as to the appropriateness of the offence, so it wanted her plea not to be taken as the case would be referred to the Attorney-General's office for advice.   

However, she was granted a GH¢10,000 bail with two sureties after her lawyer, Frank Davies, had made an application for bail for her.

Narrating how the accused person found herself in the dock, ACP Elizabeth Allandu said Ms Sabah, a trader who deals in firecrackers, has a warehouse at Anyaa.

According to her, on November 17, 2008, the trader instructed two of her employees to discharge some goods at the warehouse so they could be sent to Kumasi later.

A power outage at the location at the time, she said, compelled them to use a candle to light up the place. This triggered a fire because of the explosive nature of the materials, she added.

The police officer said the fire gutted down the warehouse, killing seven persons and injuring others.

Explaining further, she said four of the injured who were in critical condition, were on admission at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and 37 Millitary Hospital.

Frank Davies, in his application for bail for the trader, said under the provisions, the offence of his client falls under a misdemeanour which is punishable by a fine or 12 months' imprisonment in default.

He noted that it was his client who turned herself in after the fire outbreak, adding that when she heard of the incident, she collapsed and was revived later.

Counsel stated that it was rather unfortunate that the lives of people had to be lost, and that the trader was saddened by the turn of events.

Mr. Davies prayed the court to grant his client bail as she was a responsible mother of three who was a Ghanaian by birth with a fixed place of abode and had taken the police round her other warehouses.

The case has been adjourned to December 3, 2008.  

It would be recalled that a blazing fire sparked by explosives claimed the lives of six people, when a warehouse blaze defied control and swept across a number of houses at Nsunfa NIC, Anyaa, a suburb of Accra.

A man believed to be a driver and two of his relatives died, with the children burnt to ashes.

There were conflicting reports about what actually happened, but the seemingly authentic one had it that the driver had come to offload some goods at the warehouse when the tragedy struck.

By Fidelia Achama

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