The Attorney General Gloria Akuffo is to retrieve all documents from the Economic and Organized Crimes Office and other state agencies to enable former COCOBOD CEO Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni put up his defense in the case in which he is accused of causing financial loss to the state.
Justice Clemence Honyenuga, an Appeals court Judge who is sitting as an additional High Court Judge, gave the order after the Director of Public Prosecution, (DPP), Yvonne Attakora Obuobisa had justified the failure of the AG to hand over some documents saying they were simply not in the possession of the AG.
Justice Honyenuga had earlier ordered the AG to make available to Dr. Opuni all documents in their possession which they may or may not use in the course of the trial.
Majority of those documents were submitted save few which was pointed out by Dr. Opuni’s Lawyer, Samuel Codjoe.
Mr. Codjoe said letters written by Dr. Opuni to Public Procurements Authority (PPA) to sole source contracts for all fertilizers, all certificates issued by Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana in relation to the fertilizer in contention, all contract documents for supply of fertilizers since 2008, all reports on use of fertilizer issued by the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) which they showed them at the Economic and Organized Crime Office has not been given to them.
The DPP responded that all letters written by Dr. Opuni to the PPA is not in the possession of the AG. She argued same for the other documents Lawyer Codjoe made reference to.
She stated that the ones they had failed to submit are simply not in their possession. EOCO, she explained is carrying out a number of investigations that may not relate to this case.
After hearing, Justice Honyenuga ordered that the AG gets those documents from the relevant organisation since its clear they are crucial to the case of the defendant.
The case has since been adjourned to July 9, 2018.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Wilberforce Asare
