The leadership of pro-NPP vigilante group, Delta Force, has confirmed that the fines of their 13 members, who were convicted for storming the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, have been paid.
The accused persons pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crimes and rioting, at the Asokwa District Court in Kumasi, and were fined GHc1, 800 each.
[contextly_sidebar id=”2ibi55zFVbQazb5tSm1mhaLMmf6hYMYA”]They have also signed a bond to be of good behaviour for 12 months, after their Lawyer, Federick Kankam Boadu, had pleaded for a non-custodial sentence for them.
The 13 were arrested after they stormed the office of the newly appointed Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei, in March 201y7, and assaulted him in the process, in protest against his appointment.
They were initially facing charges of conspiracy to assault a public officer, and causing unlawful damage.
Those charges were reviewed to only rioting by the Kumasi Circuit Court on October 10, 2017.
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Delta Force, Mohammed Seidu, confirmed to Citi News that the 13 had been freed after their fines were paid on Thursday.
“If you don’t pay, the court won’t release you. According to the judge’s ruling, It’s 1, 800 per each person. We either pay or spend 12 months in prison. In this case, we had to find the money and pay, that is why they have been released. We’ve settled the bill,” he said.
Mohammed Seidu expressed regret about the actions of the 13 members of the group, but added that they got the support of the top hierarchy of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“It’s normal once we are human beings, we are all governed by laws and no one is above them. Nobody would be happy about repeatedly going to court. I’m very happy today. What happened wasn’t good, but once it has happened, I can’t reject the boys just because nobody asked them to do what they did,” he added.
“I thank everybody especially the President of Ghana, the regional chairman [of the NPP], Wontumi and some of our big men in Accra, who supported us from Day one. Day in day out, they’ve been calling us and asking for updates on the case. They say they are solidly behind us.”
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana