Two persons have been remanded by a Tamale Circuit Court for stealing meters belonging to Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo).
They are Abdul Hack Abubaki an electrician and Mohammed Abu Firdaus a radio presenter.
They are expected to reappear in Court on August 18. The two are standing trial for stealing meters belonging to NEDco and dishonestly receiving.
Abdul Hack Abubaki and Mohammed Abu Firdaus, who appeared in court today, both pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The counsel for the accuse, Rashid Mohammed, requested bail for his clients, but his Honour Justice Alexander Oworae denied the request and remanded them in Police custody.
Earlier Abdul Hack Abubaki pleaded guilty to the charges but later changed his plea to not guilty.
Speaking to the media after court proceedings, Mr. Rashid Mohammed said his client Abdul Hack Abubaki had earlier in court pleaded guilty because he did not fully understand the charges that were proffered against him.
He said that after the charges were reread to him and explained further, he understood the matter therefore his decision to plead not guilty.
”The situation is that he doesn’t understand the nature of the charges that were proffered against him, but after he got a clear understanding certainly he pleaded not guilty,” he said.
Mr. Rashid said he was disappointed that his client was not granted bail because he pleaded not guilty which presumes he is innocent.
“He was entitled to bail since all offenses are bailable now in Ghana but we will move to the appropriate quarters to ensure we get him bail,” he said.
Senior Counsel for NEDco, Terrence Nina said in the past NEDco was interested in people being punished by fines but with the increase and constant theft of their meters they would urge the court for a custodial sentence.
“We urged the court for a custodial sentence for as long as the laws will permit perhaps two years or more but the court has that discretion,” he said.
The Senior Counsel added that over 400 cases of meter theft have been reported. He said one of the suspects was on their radar because several people had reported him to their outfit.
“Probably this is just one of the fishes or his the only person,” he said.