Self-acclaimed traditional leader Benlord Ababio, who is on trial for killing a military officer at the Kasoa police station over a land dispute has been denied bail again.
His lawyer filed the processes at the High Court where he is on trial for murder. His counsel Nii Korley argued in court that his continuous incarceration pending trial, amounts to an abuse of his rights.
He urged the court to consider article 9(2c) of the 1992 constitution which presumes the innocence of accused persons until proven guilty and grant his client bail.
Though he admitted to the discretion of the court in deciding whether to grant the bail or not, Nii Korley argued that the court ought to consider the rights of the accused regardless of the gravity of the offence.
‘It is our case that the presumption of innocence still operates in his favour and the grant of bail is the most appropriate measure of respecting and upholding that right.” Nii Korley stated in court.
To buttress his point, the lawyer clarified that his client is not a flight risk and will make himself available for trial.
But the state represented by Frederick Adu Gyamfi, a senior state Attorney opposed the bail application on three grounds. The first is that the accused when granted bail will not attend trial.
Frederick Adu Gyamfi grounded this on the punishment attached to the offence of murder. In the state’s opinion, the accused will not attend trial since the offence of murder attracts life imprisonment upon conviction.
He argued that the evidence against the accused is overwhelming as ‘the applicant committed the offence of murder in the full glare of the public and no other place than a police station’.
The second ground is based on fears of the state that the accused may commit another offence when granted bail. The state Attorney while arguing this point described Ben Lord as a notorious land guard in Kasoa and its environs.
He further characterized him as ‘a very aggressive individual.’
On the final ground, state Attorney Frederick Adu Gyamfi noted that the accused was on bail for another offence when he allegedly committed the offence in question.
The court presided over by Justice Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie, refused the bail application and ordered him to remain in prison custody.
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