Legal Aid to represent alleged JB’s killer

Suspected murderer of Abuakwa North lawmaker Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu can now be assured of a counsel to defend him.

The Legal Aid Scheme has assured it will arrange for a legal representation for 19-year-old Daniel Asiedu. The suspect on Tuesday appeared before an Accra Magistrate court without a counsel.

The court presided over by Judge Steven Owusu subsequently remanded the alleged killer into police custody for investigations to continue.

Police are yet to complete their investigations after which a docket will be sent to the Attorney General’s office for advice to pave way for a bill of indictment to commit the accused to stand trial at a High Court.

The Director of the Ghana Legal Aid Scheme Alhassan Yahaya Seini told Starr News his outfit will step in to ensure the suspect gets a fair trial.

“Definitely, it doesn’t speak well of our justice delivery system given that by our constitution, everyone is supposed to have a lawyer of choice right from point of arrest and you are presumed innocent until you are proven guilty or pleaded so. And there are so many technical things in even the investigation process through to the trial process that the average person who is not conversant with the rules and regulations will be unfairly dealt with if he doesn’t get counsel…..I have not learnt that he has not had representation, if that be the case legal aid can on its own because murder is not a case that the person necessarily has to apply for legal aid,” Seini said.

“The processes are waved for a case like murder or manslaughter…..We’ll need to get the records; which police station is he in? We don’t know. Which court was he taken to we don’t know. We need to get those things to be able to get him help. Once we get these pieces of information we will get somebody to represent him”.

Danquah-Adu was stabbed last Tuesday by an unknown assailant (s) at his Shiashie residence in Accra. Police investigations led to the arrest of Asiedu who has now been charged with murder. The suspect has told investigators he went to the MP’s house to steal, not to kill.

According to the charge sheet, the suspect, Asiedu said he had to defend himself when in the process of stealing, the MP woke up and held him. According to him, in the ensuing struggle with the MP, he pulled out his knife and stabbed him several times until he fell down.