Court adjourns Bawku Central MP's case to March 4

Accra, Feb. 18, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court on Friday adjourned the trial of Adamu Daramani, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central to March 4. The decision was taken because the Principal State Attorney, Mr Rexfor= d Wiredu, who is the Prosecutor in the case is indisposed. Defence counsel Mr Yonni Kulendi who sympathised with the prosecutor= 's plight prayed the court to oblige the adjournment.

Daramani is being tried for triple nationality, and has had six out of the nine charges originally preferred against him dropped by the court. The court in its ruling on a submission of 93no case" discharged th= e MP on charges of prohibited immigrant, forgery of passports, electoral registration offences and two counts of unauthorised voting. The remaining charges are false declaration of office before voting, perjury and deceit of a public officer. Adamu Daramani, aka Adamu Daramani-Sakande, aka Adamou Sakande, a Security Management Specialist, has pleaded not guilty and is on GH¢10,00= 0 bail with a surety.

The prosecution's case is that in 2008, after the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, information reached the complainant, Sumaila Beibil, that the accused, who won the Bawku Central seat on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party, had multiple nationalities.

He, therefore, reported the case to the authorities and investigations revealed that Daramani had multiple nationalities. The prosecution said investigations revealed that Daramani had a Burkinabe passport number C10098625, which was issued in November 1999 and expired in September 2009.

It said Daramani, as a Burkinabe, travelled on the said passport to Ghana on March 19, 2004 and departed on March 30, 2004. The prosecution said Daramani also possessed and owned a United Kingdo= m passport number 094442650 on which he travelled to Ghana.

He arrived in the country in December 2005 and sought and obtained a Ghanaian entry visa with the Ghana High Commission in London. In addition, when Daramani returned to Ghana in 2007, he managed to secure a Ghanaian passport, thereby evading and abusing the county's electoral system and laws.

The prosecution said Daramani used the same representation to get his constituents to nominate him as parliamentary candidate and he was accepted= , thereby making them to believe that he is a Ghanaian and filed all the requisite forms. It pointed out that Article 94 (2) of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution forbade aliens from contesting elections in the country.