Court issues bench warraant for 2 PNC members

THE Accra District Magistrate’s Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest and prosecution of two leading members of the People’s National Convention (PNC) for allegedly breaking into the party’s headquarters.
They are Dr Sontim Tobiga and Baaba Ghana Seidu. A third accomplice, Ahmed Gadu, who appeared before the court and pleaded not guilty, was granted bail in the sum of GH¢3,000 with two sureties, one to be justified.
Mrs Mary Faustina Addington, the magistrate, also ordered that the police remove the new locks the accused persons had fixed to the doors at the party’s national headquarters at Abavana Junction in Accra, to allow the national executive to have access till the final determination of the case.
The three were part of some leading members of the party, including some Council of Elders members and regional chairmen, who claimed that they had abolished the current national executive and replaced it with an Interim Management Committee (IMC).
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Inspector Iddrisu Fuseini, told the court that the three accused persons, in the company of some thugs, changed the locks to the party’s headquarters and prevented the elected officers from operating from their offices.
He said the officers, including Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan, National Chairman; Mr Bernard Mornah, General Secretary, and Mr Attik Mohammed, the Policy Analyst, lodged a complaint with the Kotobabi Police.
He said the police arrested the three persons from the party’s headquarters and released them on bail after taking their cautioned statement.
Inspector Fuseini told the court that although the Divisional Commander informed them about the date and venue for the case, the two refused to appear before the court and, therefore, requested for bench a warrant for their arrest.