ACP Dr. Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo, a senior officer of the Ghana Police Service accused of abetting an overthrow of the government and acquitted by an Accra High Court has disclosed that his arrest and prosecution was as a result of critiquing the status quo.
Dr. Agordzo says his ordeal started after voicing out at an Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG) workshop, the composition of the Police Council and how things are run in the Service.
At the said event, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) had critiqued the status quo, indicating political interference does not give the police the free hand to operate on its own.
According to him, even though his vituperations were not targeted at the incumbent government or any specific administration, the party in power took offence for it, and subjected him to the embarrassment he went through for the past five years.
He told TV3’s Keminni Amanor on Hot Issues Sunday, January 28, 2024.
“Certain people do not realise that this whole thing started from the IDEG presentation that I did in 2018, where I critiqued, not sitting government but a system in place where the police council is dominated by the party in power,” he disclosed.
He explained further that his comments at the IDEG event was followed by threats from the Defence minister which led to his arrest two weeks after.
“I was threatened by the Minister and barely two weeks after the threats, I was arrested, where would I look? I can only attribute it to the Defence Minister,” he added.
ACP Dr Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo, was aquitted with two others others who were also accused on the matter.
The judgment, handed down by the three-member panel of judges on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, marked a significant turn in the legal proceedings surrounding the alleged plot to oust a government.
The two other persons who were accused alongside ACP Agordzo, were Colonel Gameli, and another junior military officer, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, who were both acquitted.
The late Dr. Frederick Yao Mac Palm, the alleged mastermind of the entire plot, was posthumously declared the first accused. The second accused, Donya Kafui, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason and high treason. Similarly, the third accused, Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu, faced convictions on charges of conspiracy to commit high treason and high treason.
Warrant Officer Class Two Esther Saan Dekuwine, the sole female among the accused, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason but not guilty of high treason. On the other hand, Cpl Seidu Abubakar, the seventh accused, was acquitted of both conspiracy to commit high treason and high treason. Lance Corporal Ali Solomon, the eighth accused, received a mixed verdict, being found guilty of conspiracy but not guilty of high treason.
Coup plot
The charges stem from an alleged plot to destabilise the country, with the accused facing accusations of conspiracy to commit high treason, abetment to high treason, and high treason. The trial, which commenced on June 8, 2021, caught the nation’s attention due to its high-profile nature.
Supporters of the accused gathered in the courtroom, expressing relief and jubilation at the acquittal of ACP Dr Benjamin Kwasi Agordzo. The trial had been ongoing since April 2021, with the judgment date set on November 22, 2023, following extensive legal arguments and the presentation of witnesses.
The prosecution team, led by Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, presented a formidable case, including testimony from seven soldiers. In contrast, the defence, comprising lawyers such as Rita Akukunti Ali, Victor Kodjogah Adawudu, and others, vigorously defended their clients throughout the proceedings.
The fallout from this trial is expected to resonate across the legal and political landscape, raising questions about the nature of the charges and the complexities surrounding the alleged coup plot. As the nation absorbs the verdict, the implications of this high-profile case are likely to reverberate for some time to come.
