Trial of NPP radio panelistPolice beseige court premises…as public undergo thorough body screening
The Police yesterday, barricaded the entrance to the Cocoa Affairs court as the embattled New Patriotic Party (NPP) radio panelist, Nana Darkwah Baafi made another appearance before an Accra Circuit Court for making some inflammatory statements against former President Jerry John Rawlings, during a radio discussion on an Accra-based Radio Station.
The heavy police presence at the court premises was to curb any untoward act that may be perpetrated by sympathizers of both the NPP and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), who were expected to besiege the court.
As a result, members of the public went through thorough body screening and checks with security gadgets to detect the presence of any type of object that could be used to cause violence at the court.
The action of the police was in response to acts of violence perpetrated by supporters of the NPP and NDC at the last adjourned date when the embattled radio panelist appeared in court, amidst pelting of stones against each other.
Meanwhile, the management of an Accra-based Radio Station, Top Radio, had failed to make available a recorded version of what the radio panelist said during the said radio discussion after they had been served with a subpoena to produce the records before the court.
State prosecutors noted, therefore, that they could not commence the prosecution process as the court, presided over by Justice C.A. Wilson adjourned sitting to April 15, 2010.
Darkwah Baafi is standing trial for publishing false news with intent to cause fear and alarm to the Public. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him.
The 27-year-old Nana Darkwah Baafi, whose comment on Top Radio that former President Rawlings burnt his own house caused the minority NPP MPs to boycott parliamentary proceedings for some days after he was arraigned and remanded into custody.
His released was, however, sought immediately by his counsel, Kwame Akuffo before the High Court, which later granted the request.
DSP E.Y. Frimpong had informed the court that the accused person went to Top Radio station as a panel member in a radio discussion and as the host of the programme raised the topic of how the official residence of former President Rawlings caught fire, the accused person stated among other things that the former President intentionally caused the fire to his house to compel the current government to relocate him.
The Prosecution further told the court that the statement made by the accused person aroused the public and a sizeable number of people rushed to the radio station ostensibly to attack the host of the programme and panel members.
It was at this juncture that the police rushed to the scene after a complaint was lodged, to rescue the situation and whisked the panel members to the Regional Police Headquarters for safety, the prosecution intimated.