File: The suspects on their way to court[/caption] An application seeking bail for six students accused of murdering their teacher at Asiakwa in the Eastern region has been denied. According to the high court in Kyebi, it was impossible to grant them bail due to the nature of the crime they have been accused of, the nature of evidence and severity of punishment after the case is determined. In his application for bail, counsel for the accused Peter Nimo argued that the postmortem was in and the police had almost completed their investigation. He added that the six accused persons were law abiding persons and first time offenders, noting that the case levelled against his clients was not intentional but accidental. But a representative of the Attorney General, senior state attorney David Hodanu objected to the application, saying with the severity of the offence the suspects will not avail themselves if granted bail. With the exception of one suspect, the other five absconded after murdering the teacher, so there was no guarantee that if granted bail they will not do same again, the state argued. The trial judge, Justice Emmanuel Bosompem Appenkwa ruled that guided by three principles under the Criminal Act: nature of the accusation, nature of evidence in support and severity of punishment if case is determined, he cannot grant the bail application. Counsel for the accused Peter Nimo, who was obviously unhappy said he intends to appeal the ruling, 3news.com’s correspondent Yvonne Neequaye reported on Friday. But members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers and family of the deceased teacher who were at the court prayed that justice would be delivered on their behalf and culprits severely punished to serve as a lesson to the youth who engage in illegal act. The case continues on July 30, 2019. The deceased teacher, 55-year old George Somuah who was a Twi and Religious and Moral Education teacher at the Asiakwa Salvation Army Basic School was assaulted by the accused persons on April 25, 2019, and died on May 4 at the hospital. The ages of the suspects – Hezekiel Boadu, Evans Aboagye, Richard Anani, Emmanuel Mireku, Philip Okodie and Paul Boadu – range from range from 18 to 22 . The deceased teacher is expected to be buried on July 26, 2019. Source: 3news.com | Ghana]]>
