NPP MP praises A-G for explaining why he discontinued high-profile cases

The Member of Parliament of Afigya Kwabre North, Collins Adomako-Mensah, has commended Attorney General, Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, for his efforts in enhancing transparency between Ghanaians and the judicial system.

According to the lawmaker, representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Ayine’s decision to organise a press briefing to provide clarity and explanations to the public regarding his decision to discontinue criminal proceedings against more than 10 individuals previously prosecuted by the former Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government was commendable.

Adomako-Mensah noted that while the Attorney General could have chosen not to disclose his reasons, his decision to do so demonstrates positive progress, especially at a time when public trust in the judiciary has been eroded.

“… I doff my hat to Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine for at least making public his reasons especially when he was under no obligation to do so. That’s transparency. That’s progress,” he posted on Facebook on Thursday, February 13, 2025.

The parliamentarian, however, expressed his disapproval of the justifications provided by the state prosecutors for discontinuing certain criminal cases.

Adomako-Mensah suggested that a better alternative would have been for the accused individuals in the discontinued cases to be acquitted and discharged by the courts, rather than the Attorney General making that decision.

“I don’t agree with all the reasons given by the AG for the discontinuation of the cases. I believe strongly that it would have been tidier if the accused were acquitted and discharged by the courts,” he stated.

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, discontinued criminal proceedings against more than 10 people who were being prosecuted by the erstwhile Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.

Almost all of these cases involve former appointees of President John Dramani Mahama’s first term.

He has also withdrawn the case of Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, who was being prosecuted for causing financial loss to the state, as well as those of Mahama’s Former Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Johnson Asiamah; Mahama’s COCOBOD CEO, Dr Stephen Opuni; and Mahama’s works and housing minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, among others.

Citing his reasons at a presser on February 12, 2025, Ayine said, “My decision to terminate the criminal trials was animated in the main by three factors. The first was that for ethical and professional reasons, I could not in good conscience continue to prosecute some of the cases. The second was that, for some of the cases, my own review and analysis of the charges showed clearly that the charges were defective, and some were filed against the promptings of plain commonsense.

“The third reason was that, in some of the cases, the evidence led so far showed that there was reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused persons and no prosecutor should continue to pursue a case in the face of overwhelming doubt regarding the guilt of the accused.”