Court remands 8 Delta Force raiders

A Kumasi Circuit Court on Monday morning remanded the eight Delta Force members who were arrested last week for raiding a court to free 13 of their members who were facing charges of assault of a public officer.

The court presided over by Patricia Amponsah said they should be placed in custody until Tuesday April 18, 2017 when the case would be recalled.

They were arraigned Monday morning charged with disturbing a court session, resisting arrest and rescuing persons in lawful custody, Graphic Online's Donald Ato Dapatem reported.

The eight were represented in court by six lawyers led by Mr Gary Nimako. They all pleaded not guilty.

Mr Nimako told the court the eight accused persons were not members of the Delta Force and were also not arrested at the court premises.

He said they were rather arrested at Fante New Town, which is far away from the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Circuit Court where the alleged incident took place.

Read also: 13 Delta Force jail breakers turn themselves in

The eight accused persons are said to have aided the escape of the 13 who were remanded by a Kumasi Circuit court last Thursday.

The 13 had been arraigned for forcibly throwing the Ashanti Regional National Security Liaison Officer out of office last month.

Shortly after the presiding judge, Mrs Mary Nsenkyire, had remanded the 13 into prison custody to reappear on April 20, 2017, the group ‘invaded’ the court and in the ensuing melee, the 13 left the courtroom, joined those outside to leave the court premises.

On Monday morning however, Dapatem reported that there was heavy presence of armed police personnel at the Kumasi Circuit Court Two where the accused persons were arraigned.

Dapatem said the suspects were brought to the court in handcuffs and aside the uniformed police personnel from the SWAT team in Accra, there were a number of others in mufti wielding AK 47 assault rifles.

He said unlike the previous court hearing last Thursday, where there were a number of supporters at the court, there were no supporters of the group around Monday morning.