By Stephen Kwabena Effah
The 35-year-old jail-breaker, Johnson Kombian, has told police investigators that a prison officer at the Tamale Central Prisons charged him GH¢ 4,000 to aid his escape on January 15. This was disclosed by Chief State Attorney, Anthony Rexford Owiredu, yesterday when Kombian was arraigned at the Accra Circuit Court on a charge of escaping from lawful custody.
According to the prosecution, Kombian told the police during interrogation that the Prison officer provided him with a knife and the key to his handcuff which aided him to escape. He has told the police that he would be able to identify the officer.
The presence of Kombian, popularly known as Burger, brought activities at the 28th February Courts, otherwise known as Cocoa Affairs, courts to a halt, as people abandoned their work to catch a glimpse of him.
Looking helpless and weary, Kombian, whose plea was not taken, was remanded to police custody until December 8, pending further investigations by the police.
Kombian, escaped from the Tamale Central Prisons on January 15, while serving a five-year sentence for escaping from Gambaga Prisons, and went into hiding until last Friday when he was arrested by Interpol in neighbouring Togo.
He was extradited to Ghana on Sunday, to face prosecution.
Heavily armed police personnel including plain clothes men took positions close to the courtroom, as Kombian, who could hardly stand on his feet, was escorted into the one-story wooden structure courtroom.
He came in bare-chested, but the police later brought a polo T-shirt and was assisted to put it on because he was injured in the right arm.
Kombian was occasionally heard groaning in pain while he sat on the floor in a handcuff.
Court officials and police personnel on duty at the 28th February Courts trooped the courtroom before proceedings began to take photographs of him.
Mr. Owiredu described Kombian as a “widely known” person with three wives, in Togo, Cote d’Ivoire and Nalerigu.
Counsel for Kombian, George Asomani, said the charge against his client was a misdemeanour and given his condition, urged the court to direct the police to give him the necessary medical attention.
He also expressed dissatisfaction about media reportage on his arrest, and asked the court to give an order for the media to stop what he termed “media trial”
But the judge, Mr. Eric Kyei-Baffour, said the courts have a limit in giving orders to the media “in order not to gag them.”
He asked the police to ensure that the accused is given the needed medical attention.
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