Thirty-one persons arrested over Friday dawn’s revolt in the Volta Region have been slapped with five charges by state prosecutors at an Accra Circuit court.
The charges relate to conspiracy to commit crime namely to attend a meeting of the prohibited organisation, to participate in a campaign of a prohibited organisation and rioting with weapons.
Their pleas were not taken as state prosecutor ASP Sylvester Asare informed the court the state wants them remanded into custody to aid investigations.
He also informed the court the Bureau of National Investigations and other security agencies have left Accra to the Volta Region to conduct further investigations.
Lawyer for the accused persons Theophilus Donkor made an application for bail but this was rejected by the court.
They are to re-appear in court on October 13.
Western Togoland riots
The alleged separatist group in the early hours of Friday blocked major entries into the Volta Region claiming independence as Western Togoland.
Most passengers travelling to areas in the Volta Region including Tefle, Tsopoli, and Juapong were left stranded as a result of the development.
The secessionists also attacked the Aveyime and Mepe Police Stations in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The group of armed men, numbering about 50, in the early hours of Friday forcibly took over both stations simultaneously; overpowering the police officers and making away with the weapons in the armoury.
The group at Mepe after hoisting a Western Togoland flag joined their colleagues at the Aveyime Police Station, seized two police vehicles, held three officers including the Police Chief hostage and injured one.
Doctors who first attended to a police chief caught up in the revolt by secessionist group on Friday have revealed that they retrieved 19 pellets of D B bullet from the body.
Speaking to JoyNews’ Ivy Sertodjie, the Medical Director of Bator Catholic Hospital, Dr Bernard Atuguba said although two officers were severely injured, Divisional Police Commander, ASP Dennis Fiakpui was the only one who reported to the hospital with a gunshot injury.
One member of the group is reported to have died in a fire exchange with the joint security team which had been deployed to restore calm.
Thirty-One people were arrested and flown to the offices of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) office in Accra for questioning into happenings in the region.
Meanwhile, government has distanced itself from the attacks by members of Western Togoland secessionists engaged in a revolt on Friday in parts of the Volta Region.
The Information Minister said claims that the occurrence is part of a ploy by the Akufo-Addo-led administration to unnecessarily heighten security presence in the Region are figments of some people’s imagination.
However, the Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for an independent investigation into the attack of some police stations by suspected members of the group.
Sammy Gyamfi said the government is complicit considering its failure to nip their activities in the bud as the police claim to have had intelligence.
“For me, this is not a matter of intelligence failure, we are dealing with a situation which is more complex than some of us think. We are dealing with a situation which potentially has the involvement of state actors,” he said on Newsfile, Saturday.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
