Private legal practitioner, Samson Lardy Anyenini believes the allegations made by the third accused person against Attorney-General Godfred Dame in the trial of Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson must not be taken lightly.
This comes after Richard Jakpa, accused in the ambulance purchase trial, claimed that the A-G had previously approached him to help build a case against the former Deputy Finance Minister.
“The A-G has on several occasions engaged me at odd hours to help him make a case against A1 and I have evidence for that… If he pushes me, I will open the Pandora’s box. I don’t understand why the A-G will accuse me of defending A1 when I’m here to defend myself,” Mr Jakpa said in court.
“If he pushes me, I’ll open the Pandora’s box. I have evidence to all this,” he added on Thursday, May 23.
According to Samson Anyenini, the significance of the A-G’s position makes it impossible to allow such a development to slide without the necessary scrutiny.
He said this on JoyNews’ The Probe on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
Mr. Anyenini also emphasised that Mr. Jakpa may likely be aware of the judicial implications if the allegation is false, making it even more worth the probe.
“He may be frustrated, but to say the things he says and considering the consequences of the things he says, I would think that they are serious enough, warranting the attention of the right institutions,” he told Emefa Apawu.
The NDC has expressed concern over what it views as a clear case of persecution against Dr. Forson, who has been a prominent figure in opposing the current government’s policies.
The Attorney General in a statement insisted that “The Republic has never required or desired the cooperation of any of the accused persons in the matter, in which it has already succeeded in establishing a prima facie case against all the accused persons.”
“Neither the Attorney-General nor any officer from the Office of the Attorney-General has approached any of the accused persons with the view to obtaining evidence from them.”
In the statement signed by Deputy Attorney-General, Alfred Tuah Yeboah, the office rather pointed to Mr Jakpa of being the one who “by various letters” on multiple occasions “proposed to the Republic through the Attorney-General to engage in plea bargaining or plea negotiations. This plea bargaining proposal has, to date, not been accepted by the Attorney-General.”