An Accra High Court has granted bail to Joseph Blankson Adumadzie, one of the four individuals arrested in connection with the theft of laptops and Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits belonging to the Electoral Commission (EC).

Adumadzie, a Database Administrator, was granted bail by the High Court last week. His counsel informed the Dansoman Circuit Court that they were in the process of serving the High Court proceedings on the Police to execute the bail, which is why Adumadzie was not present in court.

Meanwhile, the other three accused persons—Philip Tettey, a 26-year-old casual worker; Benjamin Fienyi, a security man; and Clifford Yeboah, a student—were remanded into lawful custody by the Dansoman Circuit Court.

At the latest proceedings at the Dansoman Circuit Court, Clifford Yeboah's lawyer reiterated an application for bail for his client, noting that Yeboah had forfeited his examinations due to the case. The defence counsel pointed out the High Court's decision to grant bail to Adumadzie.

The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, objected to bail for the accused persons, citing the nature of the case, which is of national interest. Chief Inspector Wonder highlighted that the Dell Laptop Computers stolen from the EC had not been retrieved and contained important data.

The court, presided over by Halima Abdul El Lawal Basit, adjourned the matter to May 6, 2024.

The accused persons have been jointly charged with conspiracy to steal and stealing, while Yeboah has been charged with dishonestly receiving the stolen equipment. All the accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to the prosecution, the theft was discovered during a maintenance exercise on March 9, 2024, when it was noticed that five Dell laptops belonging to the EC had been stolen from the BVR kits. The matter was reported to the National Security, leading to the arrest of the accused persons.

The prosecution revealed that three HP laptops of the EC were retrieved from Yeboah, and an HP printer and three Biometric Verification Devices (BVD) were retrieved from Fienyi. It was also alleged that Fienyi and Adumadzie planned to steal printers during the relocation of materials from the EC's old Head Office to a new warehouse in Accra in March 2023.

Additionally, Tettey was accused of stealing three HP laptops and giving them to Yeboah for repair, while Adumadzie allegedly stole an HP printer and gave it to Fienyi. Fienyi was also said to have taken three BVD printer chargers home.

The prosecution stated that investigations are ongoing, and they will soon present further evidence to the court.