The two Nigerian suspects in the Takoradi girls kidnapping saga, Samuel Udoetuk Wills and John Orji, have been charged with murder by the Takoradi Magistrate court.
The court was presided over by His Worship Michael Ampadu.
The murder charges come after the State Attorney, Adeliade Kobiri-Woode, entered a nolle prosequi at the Sekondi High Court to discontinue the initial trial of the two suspects who were facing charges of kidnapping.
Attorney Kobiri-Woode, explaining her reason for dropping the initial charge of kidnapping, said her office has finally received the documents it was expecting from the police.
“The nature of the document makes it necessary to change the charge. On the 4th of February, 2020, the state entered into a nolle prosequi so if the court has received it, we ask the court to grant it so that preliminary committal processes will begin at a lower court,” he said.
Immediately after the Sekondi High Court granted the plea to drop the initial charge to be replaced with a new charge, the police re-arrested suspect John Orji who was present in court and charged him with murder.
The Prosecutor, Chief Inspector B. P. Ahinsan, told the Takoradi Magistrate court that suspect Sam Udoetuk Will could not come to court because he is still serving his eighteen-month prison sentence for escaping cell and destruction of public property.
Chief inspector Ahinsan then pleaded with the court to remand suspect John Orji into police custody for further investigation to enable them to commence the committal processes in two weeks.
The suspect is expected to reappear on February 13.
Meanwhile, father of one of the victims, Alexander Kono Kuranchie, who sat through the proceedings told Joy News that if the police and the state believed the girls were dead and want to change the charges, then the case should be fast-tracked for justice to be served.