Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, says Ghana’s request for the extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta from the United States cannot proceed until the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) submits a complete docket and a strong legal case is established.
Speaking at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, Dr. Ayine explained that an extradition request must be backed by a fully developed docket and filed charges before any formal move can be made to U.S. authorities.
“In a nutshell, the processes have begun for the request to be made. The point is that the request will be made to the American authorities. When doing extradition, you cannot make a request unless you have a solid case, a docket that has been built,” he said.
The Attorney-General’s clarification comes after Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Justice Srem Sai revealed that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) had yet to release the case docket, despite multiple formal requests.
The OSP, however, maintains that the delay is due to ongoing compilation of new evidence obtained during a June 10 search and seizure operation at the offices of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML).
Dr. Ayine further cited international extradition standards, stressing that Ghana must adhere to due process.
“In the case of the Americans, the practice is for you to have filed charges. And so, for instance, when we extradited Kwadwo Boateng to the U.S. on the request of the Justice Department of the United States, the Justice Department actually sent me what they call the Bill of Indictment — those are the charges.
They sent me the charges, the supporting facts, and everything. They spent six years investigating the syndicate of criminals that included Kwadwo Boateng — six years.”
He emphasized that the Attorney-General’s office cannot proceed with only a formal request in writing without accompanying evidence.
“So the point that we have made, that my deputy made, is that without a docket, we cannot make the request. So we are still waiting for the docket. That is all I can say for now,” he added.
Dr. Ayine reaffirmed his respect for the independence of the Office of the Special Prosecutor but maintained that the Attorney-General’s Department must follow the law.
“But we in the Attorney-General’s Department cannot begin an extradition request with a bare letter. We need the evidence to be able to do so, so the formal processes have started.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
