The state has formally withdrawn charges against two individuals previously accused of being accomplices to Abu Trica in an ongoing romance fraud case, marking a significant development in the prosecution’s handling of the matter.
The two accused had been facing charges linked to their alleged involvement in a romance fraud scheme in which victims were reportedly deceived into transferring money under pretenses. Prosecutors, however, moved to discontinue proceedings against the pair, citing reasons that were not fully detailed in open court.
Legal sources indicated that the withdrawal of charges does not amount to an acquittal but rather reflects the state’s decision that continuing the case against the two individuals was no longer viable at this stage. Such decisions are often influenced by evidentiary challenges, witness availability, or strategic considerations within the broader prosecution.
Proceedings in the extradition case involving Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, took a dramatic turn at the Gbese District Court in Accra after the prosecution conceded that it had no evidence to support charges against two alleged accomplices, yet stopped short of seeking their immediate discharge.
During the hearing, State prosecutors informed the court that Lord Eshun and Bernard Aidoo, who had been cited as accessories in the case, were no longer the subject of active investigations. According to the prosecution, completed investigations did not provide sufficient grounds to continue pursuing charges against the two men. Despite this admission, the court declined to strike out the charges and instead deferred its decision.
In submissions before the court, defence counsel Oliver Barker Vormawor argued that the State’s position had fatally undermined the case. He contended that a conspiracy charge could not stand where all alleged co-conspirators had effectively been abandoned by the prosecution.
Following the hearing, defence counsel Aggrey-Finn Amissah criticised the court’s decision, describing it as inconsistent with the prosecution’s own admissions.
“Prosecution lies entirely within the discretion of the State. The court should have no interest in sustaining charges where the State itself admits there is no evidence,” he told journalists. Yet the judge refused to discharge the two individuals.
