Accused person in Prof Benneh’s trial was tortured – Lawyer

A lawyer, in the case in which three people are standing trial for the murder of Professor Benneh, has accused the police of torturing the second accused person who is currently on admission at the police hospital.

Emmanuel Larbi Amoah, who said he visited his client, the second accused person, Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah, on November 5, claimed he left the hospital completely shattered.

According to him, evidence he had gathered confirmed the accused had been tortured while in custody and not sick as the prosecution wanted the court to believe.

“I visited the accused person at the hospital and had the opportunity to take pictures of the accused person. These are the true pictures of the accused, who was arrested and interrogated.

“But he was tortured and that is the proof of what they did to him in while in custody,” he said showing the pictures to the prosecution.

Mr Amoah also raised concerns that the accused person was not being properly taken care of at the Police Hospital.

With the first accused person, James Nana Womba, already dead, the lawyer feared the second accused person’s fate might not be different if care is not taken.

“It is our prayer that if something is not done about Opambour’s case, there will be a similar announcement like that of the main accused person.

“Opambour is totally destroyed from knee level, not to talk of his back. He is also not being taken care of. We will like to have a second opinion from a private medical facility,” the lawyer demanded.

The prosecution, however, disagreed.

The prosecutor, Inspector Teye Okuffo, said to the best of his knowledge, the accused person was being well taken care of.

He insisted that for security purposes, the Police Hospital was the best place to keep Opambour Nkansah.

Inspector Okuffo also said the pictures shown to him by the lawyer, was not that of the accused person.

“We don’t know the source of this photograph. The man in the picture is not the accused person as is being suggested by the lawyer,” the prosecution insisted.

The judge, Ama Adomah Kwakye, after listening to the banter for 20 minutes, asked the prosecutor if that was not the accused person.

“No, that is not the accused person [Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah],” Inspector Okuffo reiterated.

The judge sought a second opinion. She asked the investigator, Bekoe Oppong if the lawyer’s claims were true.

“He is doing well. The CID boss is serious about the matter so he has tasked the police to take care of him. He is in a special ward. The last time I saw him, he was okay,” the investigator said.

A glimpse of the man in the picture showed someone who had his hand, head, and leg bandaged. His left leg revealed a deep sore, with the flesh slightly peeled off.

But the prosecution was certain Nkansah was well and would be present on the next court date.

The court, in its ruling, said a detailed medical report should be submitted to the court if the accused person failed to show up during the next court sitting.

The judge reminded the prosecution that the fundamental right of any accused person still holds until the person had been proven guilty.

Meanwhile, the prosecution said it would serve the court with an amended charge sheet at the next adjourned date.

At the last sitting, the prosecution brought a new suspect in the murder of the university lecturer, Professor Emmanuel Benneh.

Ebenezer Kweyisi was brought before the Kaneshie District Court on October 30, this year. He became the third suspect to be arraigned in court in addition to the lead suspect, but now late, James Nana Womba, and Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah.

The prosecution is yet to give details of the exact role the new suspect allegedly played in the death of the law lecturer on September 10, 2020, in his mansion at Adjiriganor.

The police prosecutor, Inspector Teye Okuffo, however, informed the court of its intention to merge both cases.

He subsequently prayed for an adjournment. The case has been adjourned to November 18, 2020.

Background

Four suspects were remanded into police custody over their involvement in the murder of Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, a prominent lecturer of the University of Ghana.

The suspects were put before the Kaneshie Circuit Court on September 13, after they were all slapped with murder charges.

James Nana Womba, 26; Isaac Botchway, 41; Christian Pobee, 32 and Adams Mensah Mansur, 52, are domestic workers at the mansion of the late Associate Professor situated at Agyiringano.

The facts of the case as presented by Inspector Ebenezer Teye-Okuffo, was that Professor Benneh’s lifeless body was found in his home at about 8 am on Thursday, September 10, in a pool of blood with his hands tied behind his back and marks of multiple acts of assault and resultant cuts on his body.

READ ALSO: The Inside Story: University Of Ghana Law Lecturer Murdered In East Legon Mansion

Prof.  Benneh had retired from the university but worked on contract and lived alone in his mansion.

There was no sign of a break-in. However, one Isaac Botchway, who was the late law professor’s houseboy said the last time he spoke to him was on September 10 at about 8 pm.

Mr. Botchway said he lived in Accra Central and Prof. Benneh normally called him whenever he needed him to run errands for him.

After finding out that the professor was not answering the door, they broke in.

“When the door was forced open, he was found dead,” Botchway narrated.

Meanwhile, two of the suspects, Isaac Botchway and Adams Mensah Mansur, pleaded with the court for bail through their lawyer, Robert Sumaa.

The court presided over by Eleanor Kakra Barnes-Botchway denied the bail by virtue of the case involving murder, to allow police to complete full investigations.

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