Coup case: Shut up! – Court orders remanded Agordzo to stay off media
An Accra court has ordered a top police officer ACP Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, who is on trial over allegations of coup plot not to grant further media interviews.
He has been charged with abetment to commit crime, treason felony and other crimes related to section 182 (b) of the Criminal and Other Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
Lawyer for the accused, Martin Kpebu told the court his client was unwell and wanted to be close to the Police hospital for swift medical attention
Police Prosecutors led by ASP Sylvester Asare did not oppose the demand for the rights and liberties of the suspect to be respected.
Agordzo was on Friday, November 8, 2019 remanded by the court into police custody. He has been remanded at the Ministries Police station to reappear on November 20, 2019.
I won’t be broken
Dr. Agordzo has declared he won’t be broken for being linked to treason in Ghana.
Appearing in court on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, a highly motivated Dr. Agordzo said he will fight to clear his name.
The court has remanded him into custody until Friday, November 8, 2019. He said the charges against him and the evidence are baseless and unrelated.
“I’ll stand for this. I’ll stand for this till the end. They cannot break me down at all, and I’m as strong as anything. Thank you very much for your support, thank you very much, thank you”, Dr. Agordzo declared.
ACP Agordzo was arrested on Monday, November 4, 2019, Daily Mail GH’s checks indicate.
Checks reveal that the officer has been in communication with some alleged coup plotters who were arrested a few weeks ago and are standing trial.
“He was invited to appear before BNI and he did so this afternoon [Monday]… initially they said they just needed him to assist with investigations but just this evening they turned from assisting with investigations to actually cautioning him.
“Meaning that he is on his way to be made an accused. The offence they have written is abetment of treason,” Kpebu told the network.
Dr Agordzor, according to his lawyer, was accused of assisting the alleged leader of the coup plotters, Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, through messages he sent on instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, the report added.
Mr. Kpebu said his client was confronted with the messages in which he had allegedly advised members of the group who were planning a demonstration to seek police permits.
“And there was another where he said Ghana has conditions which are similar to the Arab Spring. That is it. This Arab Spring that today if you check in the media, you will get over 40 commentators who have persistently warned that we should take steps to create employment lest we have Arab Spring. These are the reasons for which he is being kept,” Mr. Kpebu added.
According to Mr. Kpebu, his client sees his arrest and the subsequent charge as a political witch hunt.
He believes this is so because of his famous presentation at the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) where he bemoaned the political interference in the Police Service.
Dr. Agordzo is one of three police officers being questioned over the coup plot.
Source: Daily Mail GH