Court to rule on submission of 93no case" in Ya-Na murder trial

Accra, March 4, GNA - The Fast Track High Court hearing the Ya-Na murder case on Friday set March 22 to rule on the submission of 93no case" filed by the defence. The Court also said it had received a copy of the application of the submission of 93no case" filed by the defence.

Mr Justice E.K. Ayebi, the trial judge, said the Court had also obtained the response of the prosecution to the application as well as a counter response from the defence to the prosecution's written submissions.

On February 24, 2011 the Fast Track High Court hearing

the case adjourned because the defence had not been served

with the prosecution's response to the defence application. Fifteen persons are standing trial for their alleged

involvement in the murder of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II and 30

others in March 2002. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges of

conspiracy to murder and murder. The accused persons are: Mohammed Habib Tijani, former

Yendi DCE, Iddrisu Iddi, 76, Alhaji Baba Iddrisu Abdulai, 54,

Kwame Alhassan, 53, and Mohammadu Abdulai, 57. The others are: Saibu Mohammed, 34, Alhassan

Mohammed Briamah, 40, Alhassan Ibrahim, Mohammed

Mustapha and Sani Moro. The rest are: Baaba Ibrahim, Yakubu Usifu, Ahmed

Abukari, Abdul Razak Usifu and Alhassan Braimah. Zakaria Forest, the man alleged to have cut-off the head

and hands of the Ya-Na, is at large. The prosecution's case is that in March 2002, the Ya-Na

and some of his elders were killed following a clash between

the two royal gates in Dagbon, the Abudus and Andanis. After the clash, Idrissu Gyamfo and Yidana Sugri were

arrested and prosecuted for the alleged murder but they were

acquitted and discharged. The government in a fresh attempt to find the murderers

conducted a dawn swoop at Yendi sometime last year, during

which 41 persons were rounded up. After screening them at Bimbilla, 33 were granted self-

recognisance bail, while the rest were brought to Accra.

Subsequently, more suspects were arrested and after

screening, the 15 were charged with the offences. 4 March 11