By Alfred K. Dogbey

The Ho Circuit Court trying an Accra-based lawyer and four others for forging signatures of some people in the Avenor-Ave Constituency on a nomination form to enable the lawyer contest the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in Volta Region, has thrown out a plea for 6-week’s adjournment.

Lawyer Evans Djikunu Gadetoh last week Wednesday told the presiding judge that his lawyers had travelled and would not be available for the case, demanding one and half month’s adjournment.

But in an answer to the request, the judge said that there was no time to waste on the case, hence ruled out Mr. Djikunu’s request and scheduled April 25, for the case to continue.

Before the case was called, Lawyer Djikunu had to rush to Ho to look for the services of a certain female colleague lawyer, who came to his aid when his former lawyers abandoned him to his fate.

Unlike the previous hearing, where his supporters and family members of the other accused persons besieged the court, to show solidarity, only less than 10 people were in court last Wednesday.

Meanwhile, family sources, tell The Herald that Mr. Djikunu is being advised to seek an out of court settlement of the matter. It is not clear whether he would heed to the advise.

Lawyer Djikunu, and his accomplices William Kwadzo Dahume, Richard Agorkpa, Ahiave Samuel Huzey and Lawrence Kabbla Awunyo (retired soldier) were arrested and dragged to Ho Circuit Court on charges of “conspiracy to commit crime, forgery of document, possessing forged documents and uttering forged documents”.

Interestingly, Lawyer Djikunu unaware of the criminal case, had hurriedly dragged the Constituency Secretary, “The Herald”, “The Ghanaian Times” and “Daily Graphic” newspapers and some reporters, who had published a press release from the Constituency Secretary about the forgery incident, to court for defamation, demanding a whopping GH¢ 2million as damages.

The accused pleaded not guilty on the four count charges, but were later granted bail to the tune of GH¢ 5000.00. The case was adjourned to April 11, 2012.

Briefing the court about the facts of the case, Prosecuting Officer, Mr. J.K Afeyizu, said that on December 24, 2011, the first accused person (Lawyer Djikunu) in the company of William Kwadzo Dahume, Richard Agorkpa, Ahiave Samuel Huzey and Lawrence Kabbla Awunyo (retired soldier) submitted Mr. Djikunu’s nomination forms to the Ave-Avenor Constituency executives of the NDC party for vetting.

According to the requirement of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party, “only card-bearing members and people of good standing can endorse the nomination forms for an aspirant”, the prosecutor narrated.

“However, on December 24, 2011, when the Constituency executives started scrutinizing the first accused person’s nomination forms, it was discovered that the party ID card number columns were left blank”, said the prosecutor.

The executives then decided to carry out a background check on the people who endorsed the forms for Lawyer Djikunu, who is also a Business Law Lecturer at the Institute of Professional Studies (IPS).

In the process, the prosecutor said that, “names and signatures of Agbenyega Atsidiga, Evelyn Sedzro and Atsuvia Obed were found on the forms purported to be forged.”

Upon contacting the above names, “they told the constituency executives that they did not sign the nomination forms for Mr. Djikunu and stated that their names and signatures were forged and therefore reported the case to the Akatsi Police upon which Dahume, Agorkpa, Huzey and Awunyo were arrested. They, however, denied the allegations”.

The prosecutor told the court that “their specimen signatures and those of the complainants were collected for forensic analysis at the Police Forensic Laboratory, Accra.”

He said, “a report was later received which stated that the signatures on Mr. Djikunu’s nomination forms were not authored by the complainants. Mr. Djikunu was later arrested and after investigations, they were all charged and arraigned before court.”

On March 28, 2012, when the charges were preferred against Mr. Djikunu and his accomplices, the IPS lecturer was spotted heavily soaked in sweat and had to loose his tie. He later took off his coat, just to catch some fresh air.

He was accompanied by members of his campaign team nicknamed MOCHAD.

He has, meanwhile, claimed in his GH¢ 2million defamation case, that the reports carried by “Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times and The Herald” from a press conference that he forged the signatures of some delegates on his nomination form is libelous.

In the writ, Mr. Djikunu is begging the court to restrain the newspapers from further publishing the forgery scandal. He said “the Defendants knew or ought to know that the Plaintiff is a young, upcoming Ghanaian politician and therefore any such publication would dent his reputation and also lower his self-esteem”.

“ He said that the Defendants knew or ought to have known that he the plaintiff is a law lecturer at the Institute of Professional Studies, Legon” adding that “he the Plaintiff is a private legal practitioner and therefore the said publication would damage his reputation in and around Ghana”.

Mr. Djikunu further went on to brag that “the defendants knew the Plaintiff is a well-known author of an English Book entitled, ‘The Last Hour’ and other textbooks, and that such publications would cause an irreparable damage to his reputation in the eyes of all those who patronize his books in Junior and Senior High Schools in Ghana, including teachers.”

Apart from Mr. Djikunu’s “exemplary” GH¢ 2million demand as damages, he is also crying for a “perpetual injunction, restraining the Defendants from further publishing or causing to be published the said words or any words of defamatory”.