Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor
The Attorney-General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has urged the Tema High Court to refuse a bail application filed by the embattled #FixTheCountry Movement lead convener, Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor.
This is because the suspect is failing to cooperate with investigators. According to the A-G, suspect has so far failed to cooperate with police investigations, and has indicated no fixed place of abode.
Documents filed by the A-G in opposition to the bail application of the lawyers of the suspect on behalf of the Attorney-General spells out challenges investigators have faced so far. They include claims by the A-G that the suspect has refused to obey a court order requiring that he grants the police access to his mobile phone, though a search warrant had been granted police investigators to visit the his residence.
“That having regard to the nature of the offence and the punishment which conviction will entail, the applicant, a person with no fixed place of abode in Ghana, is not likely to appear to stand trial if granted bail,” the A-G stated.
The application for bail, which was expected to be heard yesterday, has now been adjourned to Monday March 14, but the lawyers for the suspect said they had just received the documents filed by the A-G’s office.
Treason felony
Mr Barker-Vormawor is being prosecuted on a charge of treason felony over allegations that he had instigated members of his group to overthrow government.
According to the Attorney-General’s affidavit in opposition, evidence gathered so far by the police can sustain the charge of treason felony as proffered. He added that in the view of investigators, Barker-Vormawor’s “conduct revealed a systematic pattern on his part to incite his social media followers into accepting his endeavour to usurp the constitutional organs of Government”.
The affidavit says the embattled #Fixthecountry convener has “since 2021 been inciting social media followers to effect by unlawful means an overthrow of the constitutionally established organs of the Government of Ghana”, which advocacy has been traced on “a number of posts on his Facebook and Twitter social media accounts”.
Non-cooperation
The affidavit in opposition noted that he had “blatantly refused to comply” with a 17th February 2022 District Court Order to give the “Police access to his phone by unlocking same to enable them conduct a search on the phone as part of the investigations.”
Again, the affidavit claims that a search warrant was issued on 16th February 2022 “for a search to be conducted on the residences of the applicant, but he has failed to show the police any fixed place of abode within Ghana, thereby rendering it impossible for the search warrant to executed.”
Police investigations also show that Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor “has no fixed place of abode, Ghana, thus making him a flight risk,” and he “is not likely to appear to stand trial if granted complete bail”.
The Attorney-General told the court that investigations were yet to be concluded, arguing that the suspect “by his conduct has shown that he will interfere or hamper investigations if granted bail.”
He thus prayed the High Court not to grant bail to him.
The Attorney General further pointed out that the bail applicant had not demonstrated that he has people of good character and sufficient means willing to stand as sureties for him. He insisted that there had not been any unreasonable delay in putting the applicant before the court for trial.
He also stated that the trial would begin as soon as investigations are completed.
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