Act professionally when handling suspects in Prof. Benneh’s murder case – Court tells Police

A Magistrate has admonished Police investigators and prosecutors to be more professional when handling suspects.

Ms. Ama Adomako Kwakye, the Kaneshie District Court Magistrate, noted that if the Police had acted appropriately, they would have saved the taxpayers the cost of a skin grafting surgery on Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah, the second murder suspect in Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh’ case.

The Magistrate noted that the state is going to bear the cost of Nkansah’s surgery.

The Magistrate gave this caution after the Ghana Police Service produced in court a comprehensive medical report of the second suspect in the murder of Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh.

The Kaneshie District Court had earlier on given Police investigators a 48-hour ultimatum to furnish it with a comprehensive medical report of the second suspect in the murder of Professor Emmanuel Yaw Benneh.

The Court further threatened to summon the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to appear before it to explain issues should the Police failed to produce a comprehensive report on Nkansah or Nkansah in person.

Opambour Agya Badu Nkansah has been absent on a number of occasions during court sittings. The Police said the accused was still receiving treatment and that his medical report was not ready.

The Court however at a sitting Tuesday, December 29, stated that it had now received the comprehensive medical report on the accused authored by Dr Tetteh Karbo.

Prosecution led by Police Inspector Ebenezer Teye-Okuffo said the accused was operated on last week Monday at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and is still on admission.

Police Inspector Teye-Okuffo, therefore, prayed the court to grant them a date by which the accused would have been discharged and brought to court.

When the Court asked the prosecution if preparations had been made for committal proceedings, the prosecutor said the case docket on Nkansah and one another, as well as Ebenezer Quaysie (all murder suspects), would be consolidated when Nkansah was discharged.

According to the prosecution, once the cases have been consolidated, a duplicate docket would be prepared and sent to the Attorney General’s office for advice.

The prosecution said because Nkansah was on admission, he would not be able to appear before the court.

Mr. Emmanuel Larbi Annan who represented Nkansah, prayed the Court to make orders so that he could be furnished a copy of the comprehensive medical report on his client.

Mr. Annan said he was surprised that the Police did not produce his client in court because the said surgery was conducted last week Monday.

Counsel said he was going to seek clarification on the said medical report from the hospital authorities, noting that the Police had defied the orders of the Court by failing to produce Nkansah in court.

“It is becoming too many times for the prosecution to come to court to tell us that Nkansah was unable to come to court,” Defence counsel noted.

The court adjourned the matter to January 15, 2021, so that the various cases would be consolidated and the matter would also be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Department for advice.

Nkansah is standing trial with James Nana Womba, the prime suspect, who is now deceased. Nkansah is being held on charges of conspiracy to commit crime to wit murder. Nkansah’s plea has not been taken.

The facts of prosecution is that Akosua Benneh, the elder sister of the deceased is the complainant, while Womba is a domestic worker of late Prof. Benneh in his house at Adjiriganor, near East Legon, Accra.

Prosecution said on September 13, this year, the body of the 66-year-old law professor was found in a pool of blood in a supine position with his hands and legs tied.

The Prosecution said the body of the deceased was deposited at the Police Hospital Morgue in Accra.

The prosecution said on September 13, this year, investigations led to the arrest of Womba, who confessed to the crime and mentioned Nkansah and others as his accomplices.

The prosecution said on September 21, this year, a post mortem was conducted by one Dr. Owusu Afriyie, a pathologist at the Police Hospital, which revealed the cause of death to include strangulation and suspected homicide.

Police Intelligence led to the arrest of Nkansah at Ashiaman, while one Ebenezer Quaysie, a third accomplice was also nabbed.