Court to rule on no-case submission in 12 false information trial

Senior Magistrate Hilary U Abeke of the Banjul Magistrates' Court Monday adjourned the trial of 12 accused persons charged with giving false information to a public officer for ruling on the defence counsel's no-case-to-answer submission.

When the case was called, Lawyer LK Mboge representing all the accused persons told the court that the case was supposed to resumed for ruling on the defence no-case-to-answer submission.

However, the trial magistrate later informed the defence counsel that the ruling could not be delivered as planned due to the busy schedule of the court, adding that the ruling was not yet ready.

He subsequently adjourned the case to 16 September 2010 for ruling.

The accused persons, who have all pleaded not guilty are namely, Landing Jadama, Mahmoud Fye, Pathe Jallow, Saikou Jallow, Abdou Karim Camara, Muhammed Saho, Haji Mahamadou Tunkara, Essa Kabba, Yaya Mass Cham, Momodou Korka Jallow, Ebrima Sonko, and Jahara Camara

According to the charge sheet, Landing Jadama and eleven others sometime in the month of May 2010 in the city of Banjul allegedly presented a petition to the Office of the President through the Secretary General State House, stating that the demolition exercise at the erected building and fences at Old Yundum Coastal Layout by the Department of Physical Planning was illegal and forcefully done, which information they knew was false.