THREE MEN who were allegedly part of a gang of assassins which murdered Nii Kwartey Adjan, the Chief of Achiaman, near Amasaman, have been put in the dock.
The accused persons, Nii Armah Oshimpa, a block moulder, Kwabla Adzika, auto mechanic, and Nicholas Nii Kotey, a farmer, were hauled before an Accra circuit court presided over by Eric Kyei Baffour, for allegedly possessing firearms without legal authority.
DSP Kofi Blagodzi, the prosecutor, said upon information that the accused persons were among the gang that murdered the chief, the police proceeded to their homes and, after a search, retrieved various weapons such as explosive, firearms, ammunition, pump action gun, two AK 47, nine short ammunitions, containing Rangoon oil covered with polythene bags.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit crime and illegal possession of firearms and were remanded into police custody to re-appear on June 9.
Briefing the court about the case, the prosecutor indicated that in February this year, the chief of Achiaman near Amasaman, Nii Kwartey Adjan, was ambushed on the outskirt of Amasaman and bullet sprayed into his 4�4 vehicle, killing him instantly.
He said following this incident, the police began investigations into the gruesome murder and in the process, they had information that the accused persons were among those who killed the chief.
The police then went to their various homes at Gbawe and arrested them. During a search, various firearms were found. Oshimpa allegedly claimed ownership of the explosive and firearms found in his house but could not produce any license covering them. The police also found 17 cartridges buried in the forecourt of Adzika�s house.
Again, the accused persons allegedly admitted to having in their custody two AK 47 assault rifles but they failed to assist the police retrieve the said rifles.
DSP Blagodzi added that in-depth investigations had revealed that the accused persons were members of a gang of land guards who went round harassing innocent developers around Gbawe, Ashalaga, Achiaman and its surroundings. They are at times hired by chiefs to harass their opponents.
According to the prosecutor, these men had in their possession arms which they had refused to surrender to the police. DSP Blagodzi, who observed there would be security threat if the two AK 47 rifles and other arms were not recovered, prayed the court to remand them for further investigations to be conducted.
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