Docket on MP’s killer forwarded to A-G
The police have forwarded the docket on the case involving Daniel Asiedu, the man accused of killing the former Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa North, Mr J. B. Danquah-Adu, to the Attorney-General's (A-G’s) Department for advice.
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The prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Mr Francis Baah, informed the Accra District Court yesterday that the police had finished its investigations and sent the docket to the A-G Department last Thursday.
Next step
When the A-G’s Department sends its advice to the prosecution, the next step is for the actual committal proceedings to commence.
At that stage, the plea of the accused will be taken, while the prosecution will also present all the evidence it has gathered in the course of investigations before the court.
Based on the evidence, the court will then determine whether Asiedu should stand trial at the High Court or not.
Police custody
At yesterday's sitting, the presiding magistrate, Mr Stephen Owusu, asked Asiedu whether he had been transferred from the custody of the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) to police custody as ordered by the court at its last sitting on April 19, 2016.
The accused replied in the affirmative and told the court that police custody was far better than BNI custody.
"I am allowed to stretch and interact with others, compared with the BNI custody where I was kept in solitary confinement," he added.
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Commenting on the new development, the magistrate said the court would be adjourning the case on a regular basis until the A-G’s Department submitted its report.
“This does not mean that the case is being dragged unnecessarily. The wheel of justice is sometimes slow, but due process must be followed,’’ Mr Owusu added.
The case was adjourned to May 18 2016.
The facts of the case are that the MP lived with his family in a one-storey building at Shiashie, near East Legon, a suburb of Accra, while the accused is a school dropout who lived with his girlfriend at Agbogbloshie, also in Accra.
On February 8, 2016, the MP arrived home in his private car driven by his chauffeur and retired to bed in a room located on the first floor of the house, after the driver had handed over the car’s ignition keys to him and left for his house.
Asiedu, who was armed with a catapult, a cutter and a sharp knife, entered the house unnoticed through the iron fence and entered the MP’s bedroom with the aid of a ladder, while the legislator was sleeping.
“He (Asiedu) began to search the room but the legislator woke up and held him. Asiedu stabbed the MP on the right chest above the breast,” the prosecutor added.
The MP held the knife and shouted for help, but nobody went to his rescue.
“ Asiedu pulled the knife through Mr Danquah-Adu’s hands, resulting in a deep cut in his palm. The MP fell by his bed and the accused stabbed him again below the breast on the right chest,” the prosecutor said.
Asiedu, on realising that the MP was almost dead, took the MP’s two iPhones and a tablet, jumped over the electric fence into an adjoining house and escaped.
He was later arrested by the police and he confessed to the crime.