The Human Rights Court in Accra on Friday granted bail to Amina Mohammed, the woman at the centre of the story of an alleged mass rape on an Accra-Bolgatanga bound bus.
She was admitted to bail in the sum of GH�5,000 with one surety and asked to reappear before the lower court for trial to commence.
This was after her counsel, Andy Appiah-Kubi, had prayed the court to admit his client to bail because the offence was a misdemeanour.
Amina, who appeared before an Accra Circuit Court last Tuesday charged with publication of false news with intent to cause fear and panic and deceit of public officer, had been denied bail and remanded into police custody until November 9 pending further investigations.
Amina, a hairdresser, pleaded not guilty.
The case of the state is that Amina lived at Ashaiman, near Tema. On October 11, she and her mother boarded an Accra-Tamale-Bolgatanga bus with registration number GN 263-10 to attend a funeral.
The prosecutor said Amina alleged that on their way, they were attacked by armed robbers at Kubiasem, near the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service barrier, before Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.
She claimed that the armed robbers compelled the men on the bus to rape the women, adding that a man who was travelling with her 14 year-old daughter was made to defile his daughter.
This allegation, prosecutor said, was reported to a radio station and thereafter several radio stations took up the story and published it thereby causing fear and panic.
When the driver of the alleged bus was contacted, he told the police that on October 11, he left Accra with 47 passengers for Bawku through Tamale and Bolgatanga.
He said at about 10:00 p.m. he saw road blocks mounted by robbers but he drove through the road block.
The alleged robbers fired at the vehicle causing extensive damage to his bus.
He lodged a complaint at the Ejisu Police Station and continued the journey to the various destinations.
Police investigations confirmed that there was an attempted robbery at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region.