Peter Kwesi Nimo, the lawyer for the six suspects arrested over the murder of a teacher at Asiakwa has indicated that he will file an appeal at the High Court in Koforidua to challenge the age of his clients.
He said he is determined to ensure that his clients are not tried as adults but as juveniles since they were below 18 years old at the time the alleged crime was committed.
The six suspects, Richard Amaning, 18; Mireku Emmanuel, 17; Philip Okodie, 17; Paul Boadu, 18, Ezekiel Boadu, 19 and Aboagye Evans were last week officially charged with the murder of George Somuah Bosompem; a teacher of the Salvation Army Basic School in the Eastern Region.
The deceased met his untimely death earlier this year when he tried to caution the teenagers from defecating on the school compound.
The lawyer’s first attempt at making a case that his clients were juveniles at the Kibi district court failed as the court refused to hear his plea.
The prosecutor, Margaret Kontoh, had rebutted and told the court presided over by Alice Efua Yirenkyi that further investigations showed that the suspects did not give their actual ages to the police when they were arrested.
She said the ages on their school’s records were different from what they told the police.
But in a Citi News interview, Peter Kwesi Nimo said he will head to the High court to ensure the right thing is done.
“They have been charged but it doesn’t matter. You can go to court and it will change. It can change to manslaughter or anything else. We are disputing the age of the children. We went to district court and they refused to listen to our plea so we are preparing to the High Court. We believe that they are all below 18 years at the time they committed the alleged offence.”
The lawyer has also vowed to push for his clients to be granted bail.
The suspects since they were arrested, have been on remand in prison custody on the orders of the Kibi District Magistrate Court.