Emotions ran high yesterday at the trial of the 10 Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) officers standing trial for allegedly aiding drug suspects, when some macho men believed to be the supporters of one of the suspects, stormed the Cocoa Affairs Court and tried to prevent journalists from entering the courtroom to report on the trial.
Some heavily-built men, numbering about 50, jostled journalists and policemen standing at the entrance of the courtroom under the guise of helping the police to maintain order, in an effort to prevent the reporters from entering the courtroom.
The accused persons were Fatima Abdulai, Dennis Adutwum Gyimah, Yakubu Issaka, Timothy Aboloimpo, Peter Asong, Mutawakilu Yahaya Iddi, Jerry John Kwesi Abbiw, Eric Darko Akuffo and Nana Zamsah Evrah and Abubakari Nallah, popularly called Abu Sondoko, owner and bankroller of Tudu Mighty Jets Football Club.
The scene was so chaotic that the machomen who were supporters of the football club owner, Abu Sondoko, almost overpowered the police officers at the entrance, compelling the security agents to call for re-enforcement to enable them to control the situation.
At a point, the police had to beg them to leave the journalists alone, but to no avail.
Some of the supporters and sympathizers of the accused persons went about warning journalists and telling them not to attempt to take pictures or write anything negative about the accused persons or they would deal with them.
The atmosphere was so noisy that lawyers in the courtroom had to raise their voices in order to be heard by the Circuit Court judge hearing the case, Eric Kyei Baffuor.
Even after the case was adjourned, some of the supporters waited for over an hour just to make sure they prevented journalists from taking pictures of the court area and the accused persons as they passed.
The accused persons pleaded not guilty to abetting a drug suspect called Edward Macauley, and others, to export narcotic drugs to America. The said Macauley and others are currently in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
The first accused person, Fatima Abdulai, during her arrest and interrogation at the offices of the BNI, reportedly sang like a bird about how she and her colleagues had aided suspected drug barons to export and import narcotic drugs over the years.
Yesterday, DSP Aidan Dery, the new prosecutor, informed the court that the case would be forwarded to the Attorney-General after the police had concluded their investigations.
He admitted that the police were still investigating the matter, adding that the nature of the case was such that it needed painstaking investigations so that it could be tried expeditiously.
He therefore prayed the court to adjourn the case for a few weeks to enable the police to conclude investigations.
Counsel for the accused persons, James Aglaga, Kwame Akuffo, Raymond Bagnabu, James Abeaduka, Amofa Agyemang, Dr Kwaku Nsiah and Dr Dominic Ayine, disagreed with Mr. Dery and prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail.
According to them, the charge was vague because the said Macauley was not even on trial with them in connection with the same offence, but the trial judge said Macauley�s case was before him so it was not the case that the said suspect was not available.
They said the accused persons should be granted bail as the prosecution was yet to go fishing for evidence before they would start the trial, adding that whenever the police concluded investigations, the accused persons would make themselves available for trial to begin.
Furthermore, they argued, most of the accused persons were still NACOB staff and would not run away if granted bail and prayed the judge to grant them bail.
Counsel for Fatima, James Agalga, informed the court that his client was a lactating mother with a one-year-old child whose life was in danger as a result of the remand and prayed the court to consider the fact that the child could die if she did not get access to the mother.
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