Some of the suspects in the kidnapping case of two Canadian nationals have accused officials of the Bureau of National Investigations and the Criminal Investigations Department of brutalizing them in custody.
The accused persons, including the alleged leader, Sampson Aghalor and other accomplices; Yussif Yakub and Seidu Abubakari told the court that they were being manhandled by the state officials in attempts to force them to admit to wrongdoing.
Sampson Aghalor, in particular, told the court he has sustained a bone injury due to the use of handcuffs on him to force him to speak.
Another person, Seidu Abubakari, also through his lawyer, raised issues of torture on him, though a check on him by the judge did not show any physical injuries.
Despite their concerns, the court remanded all the six accused persons once again to BNI custody on the request of the prosecutor due to the fact that investigations were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the alleged leader of the gang has openly apologized in court to the two Canadians and their families, the Republic of Ghana and Nigeria and other persons affected by their action.
According to him though he is not totally innocent, he did not play some of the roles he is being accused of.
The court has also granted the police warrant to arrest two more suspects believed to be linked to the crime.
The names of the suspects have only been given as Derry and Mohammed and the police will have their photos published on social media and some selected news portals.
Kidnapping operation
On June 4, 2019, the suspects were said to have rented a vehicle, a Toyota Corolla and went into a search for a victim.
While roaming the town, they came across these two Canadians who had just sat in an Uber.
They followed the Uber and accosted the victims at the hostel where they were residing.
After seizing the two Canadians, the prosecutor said, they drove the victims to an uncompleted building in Kumasi and got in touch with their family members and decided to ask for an $800,000 ransom.
The prosecution added that while discussing the ransom, the security had the intelligence and went in to rescue the Canadians.