Private legal practitioner and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, has defended the legal process surrounding the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) probe into former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
He maintained that Ofori-Atta’s lawyers engaged the OSP in good faith, leading to a reconsideration of the timeline for his return.
Speaking on The Forum on Asaase Radio on Saturday, Mr. Samoa Addo questioned why some members of the NPP were still raising concerns when the former minister can now respond to the investigations after an engagement with his legal team.
“You were the same people who said the man was not given ample time to make his case and that he was not well. Now that the OSP has reconsidered its position after engaging with his lawyers, who have now provided a specific return date—exactly what was requested—why the hue and cry?” he questioned.
“The trial process has not even started where we would say disclosure rules apply. This is not a contractual negotiation; this is an investigator exercising discretionary power. The only thing required of him is to be humane in line with [Article] 296 [of the Constitution], which prohibits discretion being exercised capriciously or with ill-will,” he explained.
Mr. Samoa Addo emphasized that the OSP is operating within its legal mandate as both an investigator and a prosecutor rejecting suggestions that Ofori-Atta was being unfairly targeted.
“If the OSP had abused its discretionary power, Ofori-Atta’s lawyers would have taken the matter to court. But they engaged, understanding that this is an investigation, not a contractual negotiation,” he argued.
While acknowledging that the OSP could have initially handled the matter differently, Samoa Addo maintained that Ofori-Atta had been given fair consideration, particularly regarding his medical condition.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) initially issued a wanted notice for Ofori-Atta in connection with an ongoing investigation into alleged financial misconduct.
The Special Prosecutor’s charges against Ofori-Atta included involvement in the Strategic Mobilisation-GRA Contract, termination of the ECG-BXC contract, payments related to the National Cathedral, procurement of ambulances, and Utilisation of the Tax Refund Account.
A fresh statement indicated that Mr Ofori-Atta had communicated to the OSP the date for his voluntary return.
On the back of this, the OSP has removed his name from the wanted list.
