Agordzo 'advised' coup plotters - Lawyer tells BBC

Lawyer for embattled ACP/Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, who is now in court for his alleged complicity in a coup plot, has told the BBC that his client only ‘advised’ the owner of the Citadel Hospital at Alajo in Accra, the man at the centre of the treason, and nothing else.

The BBC quoted ACP/Dr. Agordzo’s lawyer as saying that what his client did was just a little more than ‘advising’ the plotters on how to secure police permit for demonstration.

According to the BBC, ACP/Dr. Agordzo had gone on hunger strike after he was charged with abetment to commit treason and had described the charge as ‘frivolous’.

Int. News

The Alajo Hospital coup plot now finding space on an international news bulletin such as the BBC has now become the most followed story in the country.

He might not have told the international network what the nature of the advice was but he nonetheless had people seeking to know the contents of the 10-page WhatApp communication between him and the alleged coup plotters, which is now a source of varied questions by investigators.

Tell-tale WhatsApp chats among the alleged coup plotters, according to investigators, made clearer the depth of collaboration that existed between ACP/Dr. Agordzo and the Alajo Proprietor of the Citadel Hospital, Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm.

Security Experts

DAILY GUIDE has learnt about how the entry of security experts in the game-plan changed it from one being earlier championed by novices to a complex arrangement involving advanced tactics for the D-Day.

The stash of messages which the police officer discredited as ‘irrelevant’ to the coup charge he is facing, allegedly contain security tips about how to go about the various stages of the build-up to the D-Day when the government would be toppled according to their plan.

One of the counsels Dr. Agordzo gave Dr. Mac-Palm was that they should obtain police permit for the series of demonstrations, protest marches, which investigators say constituted critical feature of the build-up to the actual coup.



Start-up

According to the plan, a series of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were going to be detonated across Accra, especially the Jubilee House (Presidency), to simulate tension and facilitate the destabilization of the plot.

A situation of tension would be simulated followed by demonstrations until the D-Day when already primed troops would be deployed to give the final strike.

Victory Sign

Although AC/Dr. Agordzo did not spot the UN logoed beret last Friday as he did on his first appearance at a Kaneshie Magistrate Court on Wednesday, he nonetheless showed a victory sign which had many asking what he sought to achieve by the gesture.

“His body language from his donning of the UN beret when he had the opportunity to appear in court in mufti sought to attract attention to himself. It fitted his choreographed narrative of a social commentator even before his arrest and charge of treason,” an anonymous political observer told DAILY GUIDE.

From his boasting of “I am as strong as anything” and his V-sign posture last Friday, he appeared not ready to heed the warning of the Kaneshie Magistrate to avoid the public show he put up when he addressed the media after his first appearance.

UN Beret

He got many confused when he turned up in court on his maiden appearance in the UN beret, with some wondering whether he was arrested soon after his arrival at the Kotoka International Airport, a theory which was debunked by a school of thought.



Interdiction

There are unconfirmed reports that the Police Administration has interdicted ACP/Dr. Agordzo allegedly over the uniform he donned for court.

Court Documents

Already, documents that have been filed by prosecutors in court show that ACP/Dr. Agordzo held “several meetings with the leadership of the group currently in custody and incited them to take over the government as a right.”

He is accused of demonstrating commitment “to assist the unlawful enterprise with various sums of money to facilitate the organization of the intended demonstration and taking over.”

IED Production

By 28th August 2019, the Citadel Hospital IED production centre had already produced some quantities of the explosives for the coup, investigators have learnt.



Take Action Ghana (TAG)

The political movement at the centre of the alleged coup plot — Take Action Ghana (TAG) — formed by Dr. Mac-Palm has reportedly attracted a large following.

Investigators are also in possession of evidence of how ACP/Dr. Agordzo was offering financial assistance to his ‘collaborators’, their indiscreet communication on social media including a group giving out too much about the project.

While some politicians on the other side of the aisle sought to rubbish the plot as a red herring, it is becoming clear that the BNI and National Security operatives are holding on to vital evidence ready to be turned in when the court hearings begin.

Read Full Story