Nana Barima Ababio, also known as BenLord Ababio, a self-proclaimed traditional ruler, appeared in an Accra High Court alongside his accomplice, Nana Kofi Amo Kwakye.
They are facing charges related to a land dispute that allegedly resulted in the death of Lance Corporal Michael Danso.
The two men have been charged with conspiracy, while BenLord faces an additional charge of murder.
Both defendants, represented by their legal counsel, pleaded not guilty to all charges before the court, which was presided over by Justice Mrs. Lydia Osei-Marfo, a Court of Appeal Judge serving with additional responsibilities as a High Court judge.
The court denied bail to Nana Barima Ababio, citing several factors, including the serious nature of the accusations, the evidence on record, and the need to protect both community interests and the accused’s personal safety.
His accomplice, Kwakye, was granted bail under new terms.
Earlier in July 2024, Kwakye secured bail at the Amasaman High Court.
However, when he appeared before the High Court in Accra on Tuesday, Kwakye was admitted to bail for GHC One Million, with two sureties required to produce landed documents with the same or higher value.
The court specified that the landed documents presented by Kwakye’s sureties must be fully registered with the Land Commission and verified by the Registrar of the Court.
It directed Kwakye to deposit his passport with the court’s registry and the sureties to provide their Ghana Cards for identification.
The court also ordered Kwakye to report to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Operations Director every Friday.
The case investigator has been instructed to diligently record his daily reports and ensure Kwakye was produced when required by the court.
The court ordered the prosecution to file their final disclosures before the next adjourned date.
The matter has been adjourned to October 30, 2024.
On August 29, the accused were committed by a District Court and records transmitted to the High Court for them to stand trial
Lawyers for the accused told the High Court they had been served with the Bill of Indictment.
The prosecution led by Dufie Selasi told the court that apart from the Bill of Indictment, the accused had been served with all the disclosures.
According to the prosecution, they were before the court for further directions and Case Management Conference.
On April 30, 2024, at around 1600 hours, Lance Corporal Michael Danso and two other colleagues – Lance Corporals Abdul Omar Rahman and Ametus Matthew- drove to Millenium City Police Station in a Toyota RAV4 vehicle to report a trespass.
This was after they were informed that some encroachers were developing a parcel of land belonging to Lance Corporal Abdul Omar Rahman.
Benlord appeared at the police station and opened fire on Lance Corporal Danso, who was driving the vehicle, killing him instantly.
Benlord was disarmed by the police and arrested for investigations.
Further investigations led to the arrest of Kwakye.