Salt was rubbed in the wounds of the adulterous Christian leader, Bishop Daniel Obinim, who is currently standing trial over several criminal charges, as the complainants in the case swore yesterday never to opt for an out-of-court settlement.
Though Bishop Obinim and his lawyer Afriyie were lobbying for the case to be settled out of court and speculations were rife that his plea had been granted, Hot FM, the Accra-based private radio station that dragged him to court, said they were not considering settlement and therefore expect to see him in the dock on October 25.
�Management of F.P. Communications, operators of Hot 93.9FM, wishes to place on record that the company is bent on ensuring that its pending court case with Bishop Obinim gets to its logical conclusion�we are privy to rumours circulating in town that we have had an out-of-court settlement with Bishop Obinim. We want to place on record that no such settlement has been reached and we will not entertain any moves to get this issue out of court,� a news release signed by the station�s General Manager, Barima Otuo-Acheampong Boadaa noted.
The General Manager, in his statement said: �We believe in the Rule of Law and hope that due process would be followed. We kindly pray the court to ensure that the case is heard this time around after two initial adjournments.�
Daniel Obinim, 33, is the founder and leader of God�s Way International Church. He and two of his associate pastors, Kingsley Baah, 25, and Kofi Akwettey, 35, were accused of vandalizing Hot FM and using a crowbar to physically assault Barima Ntim Katakyei, a broadcast journalist who was presenting a live programme when the bishop and his two pastors allegedly initiated the attack.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on a GH�50,000 bail with two sureties.
The bishop was reported to have used the crowbar on the broadcast journalist who was still undergoing treatment.
He was also reported to have used the crowbar to destroy property belonging to the radio station until he was arrested and locked up at the Adabraka Police Station and subsequently arraigned.
According to the prosecutor, the damages caused by the accused persons to the equipment at Hot FM studios were estimated at GH�130,850.
Some of the items destroyed were a voice processor, Telos Hybria, two CD players, head phone distributor, telephone sets, laptops, and electro voice microphone.
An audio recording of the incident captured Obinim threatening to kill journalists at the station if they did not kill him first.
Obinim and his alleged conspirators stormed the radio station during a live programme that discussed his adulterous relationship with the wife of a junior pastor of his church, Pastor Fobih.
When Obinim entered the studio, Kwame Ntim was hosting his �Nya Asem Hw3� programme.
Obinim reportedly went straight for Kwame Ntim�s head with the crowbar but the presenter dived for cover after blocking the attack with his hands.
However, the presenter�s dexterity could not save him from the ambidextrous Obinim who managed to finally hit the former with the crowbar.
Kwame Ntim and the other studio guests could be heard shouting in pain and asking the man of God to exercise restraint.
He was heard on the live show accusing the journalist and his studio guests of doing �foolish things�.
Bishop Obinim has over the years been at the center of scandalous controversies that are contrary to what the Bible says about the requirements of a bishop in 1 Timothy 3:2: �A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach.�
Obinim recently confessed that he told several lies during a radio interview he granted on his adulterous lifestyle.
In November 2009, the Suame Divisional Police confirmed that Bishop Obinim had been ordered to produce two individuals to assist in investigations into a case in which he was reported to have masterminded a plot to bury dead snakes, bones suspected to be human parts and red candles at the church premises of a rival pastor, Prophet Ebenezer Adarkwa Yiadom, of the Ebenezer Miracle Worship Center.
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