A top police officer being held for his alleged involvement in a coup plot to destabilise Ghana has lost his bail application.
The High Court in Accra held Monday that ACP Dr Benjamin Agordzo who is charged with abetment to commit treason felony, has influence both locally and internationally as a senior police officer, and could influence and tamper with investigations into the case.
Presiding judge, Justice George Boadi, took the view that the bail application was premature as investigations were still ongoing in the case involving a military officer, a medical doctor and civilians.
Ahead of committal proceedings, police prosecutors on November 6 put ACP Dr Emmanuel Agordzo before the Kaneshie District Court to seek his remand as it raced against time in meeting the 48-hour constitutional provision.
Lawyers for the senior police officer however raised preliminary objection, arguing the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the prosecutors on the issue of remand and or bail application.
In their view, since the court lacked jurisdiction to grant bail in first degree felony cases, it cannot arrogate unto itself the power to remand, but the court disagreed with the defence team, insisting it is cloaked with the powers to remand the accused in committal proceedings.
It thus refused to step down the case to enable the defence to seek interpretation of the issue at the Supreme Court.
But ACP Agordzo’s lawyers later filed an application at the High Court which has jurisdiction over the substantive treason case, seeking bail.
What’s the case against Dr Agordzo?
ACP Dr Agordzo has been charged with abetment to commit treason felony.
Prosecutors say the senior police officer in November last year did abet Dr Federick Yao Mac-Palm, the prime suspect in the alleged coup plot case, and eight others with the intent to commit the crime.
According to the prosecution the accused person held several meetings with the leadership of the Take Action Ghana group who are currently in custody.
He was said to have “incited them to demonstrate against the government and to take over the government as a right”.
In his quest to show his commitment, the prosecutors said Dr Agordzor assisted “the enterprise with various sums of money to facilitate the organisation of the intended unlawful demonstraton and the taking over”.
He allegedly “drafted a speech to be delivered on that fateful day of the demonstration,” the court heard
The prosecutors told the court that further investigations into the case is ongoing.
By 3news.com|Ghana