Court adjourns appeal of Ya-Na's case

Front Page: Daily Graphic, November 24, 2011
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Court of Appeal yesterday adjourned indefinitely the case in which the Attorney-General has appealed against the acquittal and discharge of 15 persons accused of killing the Ya-Na and others in March, 2002.
Adjourning the case, the court, presided over by Mr Justice G. M. Owusu with Mr Isaac Duose and Mr Senyo Dzamefe as panel members, said it had been informed by the Registrar that it (registrar) had received a letter from the respondents indicating that they were unaware of the appeal and had also not been served with the process.
A Principal State Attorney, Mrs Evelyn Keelson, who represented the Attorney-General’s Department, confirmed to the court that the respondents had not been served.
The court, therefore, adjourned the case sine die for the respondents to be served with a copy of the appeal notices.
On March 29, 2011, the Accra Fast Track High Court, presided over by Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi, an Appeal Court Judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, acquitted and discharged the 15 accused persons on the grounds that state prosecutors failed to prove a prima facie case against them to warrant them to open their defence on the allegations levelled against them.
The accused persons were charged with conspiracy in the killing of the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II.
They are Iddrisu Iddi, Alhaji Baba Iddrisu Abdulai, Kwame Alhassan, Mohammed Abdulai, Sayibu Mohammed, Alhassan Braimah and the former District Chief Executive (DCE) of Yendi, Alhaji Mohammed Habib Tijani.
The rest are Alhassan Mohammed Braimah, Abukari Nabeli, Mohammed Mustapha, Yakubu Yusif, Abdul Razak Yussif, Shani Imoro, Baba Ibrahim and Ahmed Abukari.
They pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Additionally, the court further discharged one other suspect, Zakaria Yakubu, who was said to be at large and who was facing an additional charge of murdering the Ya-N, for not being part of the trial process.
The decision followed a verdict of not guilty entered by a seven-member jury for all the 15 accused persons.ourt adjourns appeal of Ya-Na’s case