Eight charged with conspiracy to murder remanded

Tamale, July 30, GNA- Eight persons charged with conspiracy to murder and causing the murder of Ghali Fuseini, a student during the April 23 rioting in Tamale, were on Wednesday remanded until October 24 by a High Court in Tamale.

Rufai Yakubu, Awal Mustapha, Yakubu Alhassan, Musah Razak, Jafaru Abdul Rahman, Iddrisu Musah, Salifu Alhassan and Afa Iddrisu Alhassan pleaded not guilty.

Prosecuting, Mr Rexford Anthony Wiredu a Senior State Attorney, told the court that on April 23, the complainant, Mr Aliu Musah, a Tamale trader who had a shop where he sold Arabic books and stationery asked the deceased to accompany him to the shop to help him sell his items. Mr Wiredu said while the deceased was arranging the books on the shelves the accused came from Sakasaka, a suburb of Tamale and attacked the complainant's shop, which was located in a rented house.

The assailant, he said, set the shop ablaze and some of the occupants in the house fled the scene while the fire trapped the deceased who was sitting in front of the shop.

He said the deceased, in an attempt to run out from the shop fell and the second accused, Awal Mustapha poured petrol on him while the first accused, Rufai Yakubu, set the body ablaze.

The other accused persons wielding locally manufactured pistols, cudgels, and clubs, later joined them and they went on the rampage, burning down houses and kiosks.

The prosecution said the security authorities were informed and a combined team of police and soldiers were deployed to stop the rioters. The first to the sixth accused persons were identified at a police identification parade while the seventh and the eighth accused persons were later arrested upon a tip-off. Lawyers for the accused persons said they would apply for bail for their clients.