The High Court in Accra has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a 23-year-old Biological Sciences student, Safina Mohammed Adizatu also known as Safina Diamond.
Safina, a first-year student at the University of Ghana, is being held over the murder of Frank Kofi Osei, a Ghanaian resident in Canada.
She pleaded not guilty to the murder of her Ghanaian boyfriend who resided in Canada and is currently on bail.
In court on Wednesday, October 23, when the case was called, both the accused and her lawyers were absent.
Justice Lydia Osei Marfo, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting with additional responsibilities as a High Court judge, issued the bench warrant for her arrest.
“We were supposed to have a date with the jury and the lawyers today (October 23) for the trial to commence this morning,” Justice Marfo said. “Accidentally, the accused person and her lawyers are absent without any reasonable cause. A bench warrant is hereby issued for her arrest,” the court ordered.
Nana Ama Adinkra, a Senior State Attorney, was present in court.
The jury, which had been empaneled in previous legal years, has been discharged, and a new panel will be constituted as part of new directives.
Background
In her previous address to the jury on Thursday, March 7, the Senior State Attorney indicated they would call nine witnesses, including another boyfriend of the accused and five police officers, to prove their case.
She stated that they would demonstrate that Frank Osei is dead, that his death was caused by unlawful harm, and that the unlawful harm leading to his death was inflicted by the accused intentionally.
The Senior State Attorney also mentioned that the knife identified as the murder weapon, which had blood stains, was confirmed through DNA analysis to belong to the deceased.
On July 29, 2022, a DNA test was performed on the body, with results indicating that the cause of death was unnatural. The deceased’s body was reportedly in the early stages of decomposition, and medical professionals concluded that he might have died at least 72 hours prior.
Defense
Defense lawyer Samuel Alesu-Dordzi urged the jury to uphold the principles of fairness, objectivity, and justice.
He expressed surprise at the prosecution’s claims that his client and the deceased were involved in “kinky sex,” urging the jury to consider both sides of the story before reaching a verdict.
He also encouraged them to ignore social media commentaries surrounding the case.
Facts of the Case
According to the prosecution, on Sunday, July 24, 2022, Osei, who was on vacation in Ghana, visited Safina, his fiancée, at her residence in Ashaley Botwe School Junction, and decided to spend the night with her.
That night, Safina, along with accomplices yet to be arrested, allegedly stabbed Osei with a knife and strangled him.
The prosecution alleges that Safina and her accomplices cleaned up the blood from the floor while Osei’s body remained in the room for 24 hours.
They claim the body was dragged from the first floor of the building through the staircase and dumped at the gate of the house, where Osei had parked his Toyota Tundra.
Safina allegedly called the police, claiming that her boyfriend had died in her room. Upon arrival, law enforcement found Osei’s body lying at the gate of Safina’s house, leading to her arrest for investigations.
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