Six members of the Western Togoland group have been given a 26-year sentence of hard labor by the Accra High Court.
Chris Akume, the lead attorney for the convicts, prayed for mercy for his clients before the decision was made, stating that they are first-time offenders who merely wanted to know more about their past.
“They joined various platforms in search of knowledge to enrich their history. Unfortunately, this quest for knowledge and attempt to know more about our history has landed us where we are.
“There has not been any intention to fall foul of the law. We are praying that since our intention for cessation or belongingness to the banned groups which for one reason or the other didn’t know it had been banned. It is well established we didn’t mean to commit any crime,” he told the court
Mr. Akume also asked the court to commute any jail time given that the defendants had already served more than two years in custody.
READ ALSO: MTN Suspends Decision To Increase Mobile Money Cashout Charges
However, the prosecution requested that the court impose a deterring sentence because the nation’s security was in jeopardy and the convicted had displayed no remorse throughout the trial.
The six defendants—Kennedy Awunyo, Kwame Tornyevidzi a.k.a. Abizibey, Raymond Yao Blu a.k.a. Captain, Edem Nukornu a.k.a. FBI Commander, Jerry Kpeglo, and Sylvanus Seshie—were each given a sentence of four years’ hard labor, with the terms set to run concurrently.
However, Raymond Yao Blu, the third defendant, will serve 6 years in prison after being found guilty of stealing in violation of section 124(1) of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29).
According to presiding judge Mary Maame Ekue Yanzuh, the court must have the discretion to impose a deterrent sentence.
