The Attorney General (AG) Godfred Yeboah Dame has adamantly opposed an application filed by Richard Jakpa, the third defendant in the ongoing ambulance trial, aimed at dismissing the charges pressed against him.
Jakpa’s legal counsel had urged the court to either drop the charges or put a halt to the proceedings, a move vehemently contested by the AG through a detailed affidavit submitted before the court.
In his sworn statement, Mr. Jakpa alleged multiple interactions with Mr. Dame, claiming the AG assured him of his innocence and guaranteed acquittal. Moreover, Jakpa alleged that the prosecution against him was essentially a cover-up orchestrated by Dame under duress from President Akufo-Addo and Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to target Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the former finance ranking member now serving as the Minority Leader.
However, the AG’s opposition to Jakpa’s application dismissed these claims, asserting the lack of substantiated grounds warranting the dismissal of charges within the country’s legal framework.
Emphasizing the gravity of the alleged financial misconduct related to the purchase of ordinary vans misrepresented as ambulances, the AG branded Jakpa’s application as deceiving and desperate.
The AG explicitly denounced the application as frivolous, vexatious, and unwarranted, deeming it as a specious attempt to obstruct his legitimate prosecution for his purported involvement in causing financial harm to the state.
With the legal battle intensifying in the high-profile ambulance case, the stark divergence between Mr. Jakpa’s assertions and the AG’s unequivocal rebuttal underscores the escalating tensions and complexities surrounding this protracted legal saga.
By Vincent Kubi