Fireman on 20 million cedi bail for freeing suspect

Bawku (U/E), Sept. 28, GNA - Musah Gariba, an official of the Ghana National Fire Service stationed at Bawku, was on Wednesday granted a 20 million cedi bail by a circuit court at Bawku for allegedly dismantling a police handcuff on a suspect to enable him to escape. Gariba, 33, pleaded not guilty to charges of impersonation, damage of state property and abetment of crime.

Prosecuting, Police Superintendent Peter Mawong, told the court, presided over by Mr Alex Owusu Ofori that on September 12, Roland Asaanah who attempted to rob a lady at Natinga, a suburb of Bawku was severely beaten by a mob.

He said Asaanah was later dumped in an unconscious state at the Police Station at Bawku but the police rushed him to the hospital where he was handcuffed to the bed to enable him to receive treatment before he underwent police interrogation.

Mr Mawong said the next day the police went to the hospital only to find that Asaanah had escaped with the handcuffs without the knowledge of the authorities, even though he was confined to a special ward. He said five days later, upon a tip-off the suspect was re-arrested at his hideout.

According to Mr Mawong, Asaanah confessed to police that it was Gariba, who dismantled the cuff to release him from the hospital bed. He said the nurse on duty allowed Gariba into the ward after he had falsely introduced himself to her as an official of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID).