FAMILY, friends and relations are still baffled over the mysterious disappearance of the 31-year-old Development Worker, Mr Abdul-Samed Seidu, from his residence in Tamale two years ago. Indeed, last Wednesday, May 13, 2009 marked exactly two years of his disappearance.
While the Police are yet to unravel the puzzle over the disappearance of the University of Cape Coast graduate, the only person who could have helped in unravelling the whereabouts of the affable gentleman is also supposedly at large. The accused and namesake of the victim, Abdul-Samed Seidu, disappeared after the Appeals Court in Accra granted him bail, and he has since failed to appear before the Tamale District Court that executed the bail.
The family has, therefore, appealed to the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police and Members of Parliament for Tamale North, Central and South constituencies to ensure justice in the matter.
“I humbly submit this petition to Your Ladyship praying for urgent action to be taken in order to remedy a grave injustice, preserve the image of the Judiciary, and to prevent the administration of justice from being brought into ridicule and disrepute,” the letter, signed by an uncle of the victim, Alhaji Mallam Issah Seidu,stated.
According to the petitioner, in May 2007 his nephew, also known as Abdul-Samed Seidu, hosted the accused person, a friend and citizen of Canada, at his Tamale residence as his guest.
A few days later, the host, who lived alone with the accused in his house at Kalpohin Estates, Tamale, disappeared and could not be traced.
Alhaji Seidu alleged that the guest failed to inform any member of the host’s family about his disappearance until family members and friends of the victim noticed his conspicuous absence from work and other social events and confronted the guest.
The uncle of the victim claimed the suspect, after the disappearance of his nephew, moved out of the nephew’s house and checked into a hotel.
“All efforts by the Police in Tamale to get the suspect to assist them in investigation proved futile as he surrepitiously left Tamale, even though he kept deceiving the Police that he was on his way to assist them unravel the mystery of my nephew’s disappearance,” Alhaji Seidu alleged.
The petitioner claimed, upon receiving information that the accused was making frantic efforts to leave the country and to evade arrest, he informed the Police who obtained an absconding warrant from the Tamale District Court, upon which the accused was arrested on board a Delta Airlines flight en route to New York, USA and taken to Tamale where the court remanded him in prison custody.
He further alleged that when the suspect’s luggage was searched, a laptop,one digital camera, one iPod, documents of a house and two mobile phone batteries, all belonging to his nephew, were found.
“It was also discovered that the accused had falsified documents purporting to cover the purchase of a vehicle in Canada for my nephew, to enable the accused defraud my nephew.
Also, the accused was discovered to have sent text messages impersonating my nephew after the latter’s disappearance,” Alhaji Seidu alleged.
The suspect was initially charged with kidnapping, murder and stealing, and after several attempts by lawyers for the accused to secure bail for him at the district court failed, two other applications for bail were again made to the High Court, Tamale, but both applications were dismissed. Counsel for the accused then applied to the Court of Appeal for bail.
After several adjournments, a new panel was constituted and the accused was eventually granted bail to be executed by the Tamale District Court.
“I was informed that the Law Office had advised the Police to drop the charges of kidnapping and murder against the accused person,and be charged with stealing.
I appeared several times to testify in court with other witnesses in the stealing case, but the trial could not commence for reasons I do not know,” the petitioner stated.
The suspect subsequently failed to appear before the court after his passport was released to him, contrary to the Appeal Court’s order.
“I am reliably informed that the accused person, after the release of his passports, has returned to Canada where he is a citizen, which explains his persistent absence from court,” he alleged.
Alhaji Samed explained that it was for this reason that he was making a passionate appeal to the Chief Justice to cause an investigation to be conducted into the circumstances leading to the release of the accused person’s passport to him, as well as the long adjournment, which he claimed, facilitated the suspect’s plans to escape justice.
“I am further appealing to you to take the necessary action to ensure that the accused person is extradited to Ghana to stand trial,” he entreated.
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