Coup plot: Suspects charged, remanded

Three alleged coupists arrested in Ghana recently have been charged with five counts by the Kaneshie District Magistrate’s Court.

The three, Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm; Ezor Kafui and Mr Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu (aka BB or ADC) were charged with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, manufacturing of arms and ammunition; conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, the possession of firearms, explosives and ammunition without lawful excuse; two counts of manufacturing of arms and ammunition – one for some six pistols retrieved from the property of one of the alleged coupists and the other for some 22 explosives also retrieved by the security agencies; and finally possession of explosives, arms and ammunition without lawful excuse.

The court, however, did not take the plea of the accused persons.

The prosecution was also ordered to go and amend the charge sheet.

The three were also remanded by the court.

The owner of Citadel Hospital, Dr Frederick Yao Mac-Palm; a weapon manufacturer Ezor Kafui and Mr Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu (aka BB or ADC) were arrested on Friday, 20 September 2019 at Accra and Bawaleshie near Dodowa.

The government, through the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in a press statement on Monday, 23 September 2019, said: “A joint security operation of personnel drawn from Defence Intelligence, CID and Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), conducted a successful operation which led to the arrest of three persons and the retrieval of several arms, explosive devices and ammunition from locations in Accra”.

The release explained that surveillance on the activities of the persons involved commenced in June 2018, when Dr Mac-Palm and Mr Ofosu started organising a series of meetings at the Next-Door Beach Resort, Teshie, and other locations in Accra, in furtherance of their objectives.

The minister’s statement said: “…Between June and August 2018, BB, acting for and on behalf of Dr Mac-Palm, contacted a number of serving military personnel, and talked them into hatching and executing a plot to obtain weapons, take over key installations, and secure funding for the purpose of taking over the reins of government. These meetings were closely monitored”.

Again, the statement said in August 2018, Dr Mac-Palm and two others, Kennedy Amoah and Dr Albert Sam (based in the USA), formed a group called ‘Take Action Ghana” (TAG) “under the guise of mobilising the youth for nation-building, education, health, and providing shelter to the needy”.

The minister said, “Evidence available shows the intent was to build a support base of youth and radicalise them against the political authority in Ghana”.

“In furtherance of this scheme, Dr Mac-Palm contracted one Mr Ezor from Alavanyo to produce locally made weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for the operation. In July 2019, Mr Ezor set up a workshop in a container, originally used as an X-Ray laboratory, at the premises of Citadel Hospital, and started producing the weapons and IEDs in-house.

“On 10th September 2019, Dr Mac-Palm and Mr Ezor procured from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, some essential chemicals to be mixed with gun powder, stone chippings, surgical needles and powdered pepper for their operations. He also contracted a worker at the Base Workshop in Burma Camp to supply 10 AK 47 rifles. He made an advance payment of GHS7,000.00.

“On Thursday, 19 September 2019, at about 2300 hours, still under surveillance, Dr Mac-Palm, Mr Ezor, and one soldier went to an area close to the Laboma Beach to test fire some of the locally-manufactured weapons”.

Items retrieved at Citadel Hospital, Alajo, Accra were:

• 5 x locally-manufactured pistols with magazines fitted on.

• 1 x foreign pistol (Reg. No. PX154006) with 2 X magazines.

• 3 x locally-manufactured pistol barrels.

• 3 x smoke grenades.

• 22 x Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

• 9 x 7.62mm NATO AK-47 rounds.

• 2 x AK-47 magazines.

• 1 x long Knife.

• The outlined plan for the operation presented by some soldiers at one of their meetings at Next-Door Resort.

• 7 x mobile phones.

• 2 x IPADs.

• 2 x decoders.

• 1 x modem.

• 3 x tablets.

• 1 x Ghanaian passport.

• 2 x pen-drives.

• 1 x voice recorder.

• 1 x USB connector.

• Machines and materials for manufacturing weapons and   IEDs.

At Bawaleshie near Dodowa, a 63 x 9mm NATO rounds ammunition was retrieved.

Meanwhile, the lawyer for the three alleged putschists has refuted the allegation that his clients were plotting to “take over” the Akufo-Addo Presidency through.

Mr Victor Adawudu told Benjamin Akakpo on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Tuesday, 24 September 2019 that the claims put out in the public domain by the government are false and need to be proved as his clients were planning “nothing near [the] destabilisation of this country”. “There is nothing near coup d’etat”, Mr Adawudu insisted.

Mr Adawudu maintained that: “Nothing has been shown as exhibits to us that: ‘We found this one on your premises and we found this one in your house’, only [for the government] to issue a statement to say: ‘I have found this’, when you have not shown it to the lawyer or accused person”.

He explained further that when the police arrests people in possession of certain items, the suspects are given the chance to have a view of the exhibits for confirmation or otherwise, but this was not done, “Then you come to the public to say we have found this to prejudice the minds of the people”.

According to him, the government’s posture is “dilatory and meant to divert attention from issues that are happening” in the country.

He was of the opinion that government embarks on media trials and sensationalism in issues like this, which, he said he sees “as a set-up to divert attention on the hardship and things that are happening in this country”.

Even though Mr Adawudu admitted that Dr Mac-Palm has confirmed that four firearms were retrieved from his compound, they do not know “who put it there and who is the owner is the issue for them [security] to look for it to be unravelled”.

The lawyer insisted that his client “has no idea about how the arms got there” as well as some of the other things said to have been found at the premises.

“If you have arms, will you keep it in your room or where the generator is? And when the police come, they move straight to where the generator is and pick it up?… And you think it is normal?” Mr Adawudu questioned.