A-G relieves 62 from criminal cases

Sixty-two people have so far been relieved from various criminal charges filed under the immediate past Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice headed by Godfred Yeboah Dame.  

The new Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, filed notices of withdrawal and nolle prosequi in the cases which predominantly border on willfully causing financial loss to the state. 

On January 24, the A-G filed a notice of abandonment at the Supreme Court not to pursue an appeal challenging the acquittal of the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, and a businessman, Richard Jakpa, by the Court of Appeal.

Dr Forson was previously standing trial at the Accra High Court on allegations of causing a financial loss of €2 million in an ambulance purchase deal but was subsequently acquitted and discharged by the Court of Appeal on July 30, 2024, after his submission of no case was upheld by the second highest court of the land.

Dr Opuni

On January 28, the A-G withdrew the charges against a former Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, and a businessman, Seidu Agongo, who were accused of causing financial loss to the state in a fertiliser purchase deal.

Again, on January 30, the A-G filed a notice to withdraw all charges against a former Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama, who was on trial in two separate cases over accusations of being complicit in the collapse of UniBank and UT Bank.

The A-G also terminated the trial of former Director-General of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Dr Ernest Thompson, who was accused together with three others of causing a financial loss of more than $15.3 million in the SSNIT Operational Business Suites (OBS) project.

The A-G filed a notice of withdrawal in respect of three of the four accused persons, effectively ensuring that the three persons could not be prosecuted again in the case.

The three accused persons — Dr Thompson, John Hagan Mensah and Peter Hayibor — are, therefore, expected to be acquitted and discharged at the next hearing by the Accra High Court presided over by Justice Henry Kwofie, a Supreme Court judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge.

A fourth accused person, Caleb Afaglo, who is alleged to have secured his employment at SSNIT with fake certificates and was accordingly charged with various counts of possession of forged documents and authoring forged documents, for which he has pleaded not guilty, will, however, continue to stand trial as he is not mentioned in the notice of withdrawal.

A notice of withdrawal filed on Friday, February 7, 2025, and signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, said the withdrawal was based on Sections 59(1), 59(2)(b)(ii), and 59(5) of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30).

Saglemi Housing case

Alhaji Dauda, who is also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Asutifi South, along with Dr Agyeman-Mensah and three others were dragged to court in 2021 for causing financial loss to the state over the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project.

The other accused persons were the Chief Director at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing from 2009 to 2017, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu; the Executive Chairman of Construtora OAS, the Brazilian company which constructed the Affordable Housing Project at Saglemi, Andrew Clocanas, and a Director of RMS, the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) consultancy subcontractor, Nouvi Tetteh Angelo.

The prosecution accused the five persons of intentionally misapplying $200 million of state funds by paying for 1,412 affordable housing units at Saglemi, instead of 5,000 units, as Parliament had approved.

In a court document filed on February 7, 2025, the A-G decided to file a nolle prosequi in respect of all the five accused persons, indicating the A-G’s disinterest in the case.

Although a nolle prosequi terminates criminal proceedings, it does not totally lead to the acquittal of accused persons, as the prosecution can revive the case by filing new charges in respect of the same case and facts.

Leaked tape

The Attorney-General then filed a notice of withdrawal of the case of the former National Chairman of the NDC, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, and Kweku Boahen, who were captured on a leaked tape planning to assault the EC boss and some officials of the Peace Council.

Ofosu Ampofo was later appointed as a Policy Adviser for Political Affairs at the Office of the Vice-President.

Democracy hub

Concerning the democracy hub protestors, the A-G decided to file a nolle prosequi, indicating his disinterest in the case.

The 53 accused persons were accused of violating the law during a planned demonstration to drum home their displeasure over illegal mining and bad governance and were charged with multiple counts, including conspiracy to commit a crime, unlawful assembly, unlawful damage, offensive conduct conducive to the breach of the peace, assaulting a public officer and defacement of public property.