The Accra District Court Tuesday ordered the transfer of Daniel Asiedu, the man charged with the murder of the former Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, from the custody of the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) to police custody.
“The accused person’s continued remand in BNI custody is hereby curtailed. He is from today to be remanded in police custody,” the court, presided over by Mr Stephen Owusu, ordered.
The court issued the order after the prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Mr Francis Baah, informed the court that investigations into the case was almost complete and the docket would be sent to the Attorney-General’s (AG) Department for advice and further directions.
Counsel for the accused, Mr Augustine Obour, also prayed the court to change his client’s warrant from BNI to prison or police custody.
According to him, since the investigations were almost done and the docket was about to be sent to the AG’s Department, “the normal process is that he has to be remanded in police or prison custody for the bill of indictment to be served on him.
“Also, he needs to be placed in a facility where his family and legal representation can have access to him,” he added.
In response, Mr Baah reiterated the need for Asiedu to remain in BNI custody, adding “we will prefer for various reasons for him to still be kept in BNI custody, paramount among them is for his own safety.’’
Ruling
In its ruling, however, the court said the prosecution had already achieved its aim of keeping Asiedu in BNI custody.
According to him, the reason given by the prosecution for Asiedu to be kept in BNI custody was for investigations into the case to continue but now that investigations were almost completed, there was no need for the accused person to be kept in BNI custody.
The case was adjourned to May 4, 2016.
Appearance
Asiedu appeared in court in high spirits, a sharp contrast to his previous appearances when he looked dull and frequently complained about the ill treatment being meted out to him in the BNI custody.
Another noticeable difference in the accused’s appearance was his change of clothes.
The accused person, in his last four appearances, always wore a white T-shirt over a grey jumpsuit and a pair of sandals, but at on Tuesday’s sitting, the young man, also known as ‘Sexy Don Don’, had changed his apparel and wore a multi-coloured T-shirt over black shorts.
Facts
The facts of the case are that the MP, Mr J. B. Danquah-Adu, lived with his family in a one-storey building at Shiashie, near East Legon, a suburb of Accra, while the accused is a school dropout who lived with his girlfriend at Agbogbloshie, also in Accra.
On February 8, 2016, the MP arrived home in his private car driven by his chauffeur and retired to bed in a room located on the first floor of the house, after the driver had handed over the car’s ignition keys to him and left for his house.
Asiedu, who was armed with a catapult, a cutter and a sharp knife, entered the house unnoticed through the iron fence and entered the MP’s bedroom with the aid of a ladder, while the legislator was sleeping.
“The accused began to search the room but the legislator woke up and held Asiedu. Asiedu stabbed him on the right chest above the breast,” the prosecution added.
The MP held the knife and shouted for help, but nobody went to his rescue.
“The suspect pulled the knife through Mr Danquah-Adu’s hands, resulting in a deep cut in his palm. The MP fell by his bed and the accused stabbed him again below the breast on the right chest,” the prosecutor said.
Asiedu, on realising that the MP was almost dead, took the MP’s two iPhone smartphones and a tablet, jumped over the electric fence into an adjoining house and escaped.
Asiedu was later arrested by the police and he confessed to the crime.