The leader of the FixTheCountry Movement Oliver Barker-Vormawor has told the Tema High Court in the Greater Accra Region that he is in “good health” and “prepared to stand trial” for treason felony with which he has been charged for threatening a coup in a social media comment.
Mr Barker-Vormawor, who has been in detention since February 11, 2022, told the court presided over by Justice Daniel Mensah that he hopes “they (prosecution) take the matter up for trial.”
Mr Barker-Vormawor’s lead counsel, Mr Akoto Ampaw, who moved the bail application said although his clients comments were “reckless and condemnable”, they do not merit the charge levelled against him.
He argued that nothing shows that his client has prepared or shown an endeavour to carry out his conditional threat.
In his view, instead of the prosecution jumping the gun, the police could have first put his client under surveillance over his “youthful exuberant and empty talk”.
For her part, a senior state attorney Hilda Craig said all offences are bailable, there was the need to meet certain conditions for it.
In her view, the accused persons intended to carry out his coup threat judging from his behavior – flying down to Ghana after his post to prepare and carry out his intention and, thus, highly likely to be a flight risk if granted bail.
She told the court that the applicant has no fixed place of abode since he is just lodging with people.
Also, she told the court that Mr Barker-Vormawor has been “intolerant and abusive in custody”.
On hearing the arguments from both parties, The Tema High Court adjourned the ruling of the bail application to Wednesday, 16 March 2022.Judge Daniel Mensah, after hearing both arguments, adjourned the ruling to Wednesday, 16 March.
