Mahama is not responsible for prosecutions and has not directed me to drop any case – AG

Dr. Dominic Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has accepted entire responsibility for the high-profile cases that have been withdrawn, claiming that President John Dramani Mahama did not give him the order.

Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday, February 12, Dr. Ayine revealed that the Attorney General’s office reached such decisions following a comprehensive professional review of each case.

“I am keenly aware of the need to balance the public interest against the interests and rights of the accused persons.”

Also, as Attorney General, I take absolute responsibility for all the decisions taken so far. I am not under any instructions or pressure to discontinue any case or to bring charges against one. Those who are in a haste to tag the President as a clearing agent should hasten slowly because he is not responsible for prosecutions and has not directed me to drop any case.”

I wish to make it clear that I did not take these decisions lightly. As I indicated above, I consulted widely and reviewed the files diligently before coming to a decision on each of the cases. You would note that in some cases, such as the SSNIT case and the banking cases, I withdrew charges against some of the accused persons while others are under consideration.”

Johnson Asiama, the current acting governor and former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana, is one of the seven cases that have been dropped. After he was linked to the failure of UT Bank and UniBank, the Attorney General dropped all of the charges against him.

Additionally, the AG dismissed the prosecution against Richard Jakpa and Ato Forson, the current Finance Minister and former Minority Leader, in the ambulance procurement deal.

Former COCOBOD CEO Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo were accused of creating GH¢271 million in financial damage through the Lithovit foliar fertilizer scandal, but their lengthy trial was also dropped.

While noting that certain individuals were still awaiting trial in the SSNIT and banking sector cases, the Attorney General also dropped charges against Dr. Ernest Thompson, the former head of SSNIT, and three other individuals who were charged with financial mismanagement.

A nolle prosequi was also used to dismiss the financial misconduct case against former Works and Housing Minister Collins Dauda and four other individuals in the Saglemi Housing project.

While former NDC Chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and Communications Officer Anthony Kwaku Boahen were released from charges relating to a leaked recording purportedly plotting political violence, activists Oliver Barker-Vormawor, Ama Governor, and others had their cases dropped, reviving discussions on protest rights and political repression.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com