Accra, May 7, GNA – Fourteen persons arrested over disturbances during the Adamborebe Chieftaincy installation have been arraigned before an Accra Circuit Court.
Ten of the accused have been remanded into lawful custody, while two, Richard Mikki Osei Berkoh and Mustafa Hamidi, remain at large.
The ten remanded persons are Christian Adukpo, Joseph Dawu, Richard Agyemang, Samuel Obeng, Jerry John Kwame Atilah, Kwame Aboagye, Evans Dekadzor, Thomas Davies, Samuel Annan, and Paul Owusu.
They pleaded not guilty to charges including prohibiting vigilante groups and activities, organized criminal group, carrying offensive weapons, unlawful assembly, and discharging guns in town.
Two accused persons, Osiahene Joe Quaye, a farmer and chief, and Douglas Amoako Dankwah, a student, were granted bail of GHC400,000 each with three sureties, who must justify their bail with landed properties.
The court ordered them to deposit their passports with the Registry and to report weekly to the Police.
They also denied a charge of offensive conduct by disobeying a High Court order restraining them from proceeding with the chieftaincy installation.
The Court directed the prosecution to file their disclosures.
The accused are expected to reappear on May 20, 2026.
Earlier, Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Asare, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Emmanuel Nyamekye, opposed bail on the grounds that the accused might interfere with investigations or fail to appear for trial.
Defence counsel argued that their clients were well-known in their communities, gainfully employed, married with children, had fixed residences, and reputable sureties, and therefore not a flight risk.
Court records indicate that on April 24, 2026, the Eastern Regional Police Command was alerted to the planned enstoolment of two rival chiefs from the same family in Adamborebe.
Police intelligence concluded that installing both chiefs would likely cause a serious breach of peace.
A meeting was called for the parties, and a High Court restraining order was served, prohibiting the installations.
Despite this, on May 3, 2026, intelligence indicated that Douglas Amoako Dankwah’s installation was planned.
Mikki Osei Berkoh allegedly organised Christian Adukpo, Joseph Dawu, Kwame Aboagye, and Jerry John Kwame Atilah as drivers, armed with pump-action guns, while Mustafa Hamidi supplied camouflage uniforms.
On May 4, 2026, Osiahene Joe Quaye, assisted by Dankwah, organized a traditional ceremony, locking themselves in a room and performing rites for Dankwah’s installation, attracting a crowd from the opposing faction who threatened to attack them.
During the arrests, police recovered five pump-action guns loaded with 23 live cartridges, a stun gun, a walkie-talkie, handcuffs, and fragment vests.
The accused are expected to reappear in court on May 20, 2026.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Joyce Danso