The District Court 1 in Ho has remanded four suspects into prison custody for allegedly attempting to murder a 31-year-old driver of the Adaklu District Assembly in the Volta Region.

The accused persons are Patrick Kwame Agbesi, 39, a mechanic; Abraham Kwame Atidama, 30, an auto electrician; Atsu Adzasu, 24, an auto mechanic; and Prophet Johnson Togoe, 49, who is both an auto mechanic and a self-proclaimed prophet.

The court has ordered the suspects to reappear on December 20, 2024, as investigations into the matter continue.

Background

The Prosecution told the court, presided over by Albert Owusu Annor Esq, that victim, Fred Odum, a driver by profession and working with the Adaklu District Assembly, and the accused persons are Auto mechanics and Auto electrician respectively.

That all suspects are residing at Mirage and Poly Down, both in the Ho Municipality.

During the month of August 2023, the Police Intelligence Department (PID) in Ho received information about the alleged murder of a young guy. The Department then launched an investigation into the incident.

On November 15, 2024, the PID after months of intensive Intelligence gathering located victim Fred Odum.

The victim, when interviewed, confirmed to the police that on August 11, 2023 around 01:00hours, he was returning from Ho to Adaklu-Kojobi when his unregistered royal motorbike developed a puncture on the rear tyre.

That he pushed the motorbike to the nearest mechanic shop where all the accused persons mentioned, with the exception of the Prophet work, in order to fix the punctured tyre.

The victim also told the police that moments after he entered the mechanic shop, suspect Abraham Kwame Atidama emerged from nowhere and struck his forehead with a cutlass.

The Court heard that Atidama then raised an alarm that he was a thief and people trooped to the scene. Victim was then subjected to severe beating by the suspects using sticks, cutlasses, metal rods and other implements.

The accused persons then tied victim’s hands behind him with electric wire. Both of his legs were also firmly tied using electric wire.

He was then tied to the rear of a blue/black Mazda, with registration number GT2408Q.

Patrick Agbesi Kwame drove the vehicle, dragging him on the tarred road from GETFUND Hostel to SSNIT Flat Junction, a distance of about 500 meters.

The victim screamed in agony and fell unconscious. He sustained injuries on his forehead, buttocks, chest, arms, legs and genitals. Blood oozed from the named bodily parts.

Atsu Adzasu, thinking the victim was dead, dumped him in a nearby bush.

He was later rushed to the Ho Teaching Hospital by some Good Samaritans where he was admitted for treatment for months.

Police, however, issued a medical report form to the victim.

Medical evidence obtained from the Teaching Hospital, signed by Dr Mawuwenyo A. Oyortey, a Urology Consultant disclosed “laceration of 5cm×3cm on the left supra orbit with friction burns on the right side of the cheek, anterior chest wall, upper and lower limbs as well as the abdominal walls.

There was also laceration, occiput and avulsion injury on the left wrist. It also indicated avulsion injury of the scrotum with traumatised amputation”.