NewzThe opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, of deliberately using his office to secure the release of members and allies of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) facing corruption-related prosecutions. The allegation follows Thursday’s Court of Appeal decision to acquit and discharge former Chief Executive Officer of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu, overturning her earlier conviction and 10-year prison sentence. Addressing a press conference on Friday, July 31, the NPP’s National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, claimed the MASLOC ruling was part of what he described as a deliberate pattern by the Attorney General to discontinue or overturn criminal cases involving former NDC officials.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me proceed by stating that it has become the modus operandi of this Attorney General. It was an agenda well-conceived to free all their people,” he alleged. Mr Boakye argued that the Attorney General had adopted the same approach in several high-profile corruption cases involving former government officials.
Citing the SSNIT financial loss case, he claimed the Attorney General entered a nolle prosequi to discontinue proceedings against the former Director-General, Board Chairman and two others, despite the court having ruled that they had a case to answer. Read also: Court of Appeal acquits, discharges ex-MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu “The court had ruled that you have a case to answer. Yet the Attorney General… just went to court, entered a nolle prosequi, and acquitted and discharged all of them,” he said.
He also referenced the UniBank case, which involved alleged financial losses estimated at GH¢5.7 billion, claiming the Attorney General similarly withdrew the prosecution after the court had directed the accused persons to open their defence. “Again, the court had ruled that they have a case to answer. Yet this Attorney General, because it is already a well-conceived agenda to free their people, again went to court with a stroke of a pen, entered a nolle prosequi, and freed all of them,” Mr Boakye alleged.
The NPP National Organiser further cited the Saglemi Housing Project case involving former Works and Housing Minister Collins Dauda and others, as well as the COCOBOD trial, as additional examples … The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, of presenting a weak defence in the State’s appeal case involving former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer, Sedina Christine Tamakloe Attionu. Addressing a press conference in Accra, the NPP National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, alleged that the appeal process was deliberately handled in a manner that led to Ms Tamakloe Attionu’s acquittal and discharge by the Court of Appeal.
He questioned how what he described as a “mountain of evidence” presented during the trial could fail to support a conviction, demanding answers from the government over the outcome of the case. “On what principle does a mountain of evidence become a mirage? Ghanaians are entitled to answers,” he said on Friday, July 31.
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