Godfred Yeboah-Dame
Government has been directed to pay an amount of $750 by the ECOWAS Court, also known as Community Court of Justice (CCJ) sitting in Accra to Transparency International.
The fine is punishment for government’s delay in filing its defence in the Agyapa deal.
It would be recalled that Transparency International had taken the matter of Agyapa to the ECOWAS Court because according to them the transaction had within it politically exposed persons which did not lend it the deference to make it acceptable.
The Agyapa deal, which was about the monetisation of the country’s gold, met resistance from various strands of personalities who called for further consultation on the matter. It was Transparency International which went further and took the issue to the ECOWAS Court.
The sub-regional court’s first Accra sitting yesterday had Chief State Attorney Dorothy Afriyie Ansah urging the court to file the state’s defence, claiming the delay in doing so earlier was because she suffered the complications of COVID-19. She was the officer assigned to deal with the subject.
Lawyers for Transparency International led by Olumide Babalola did not oppose this request, and the court in the end adopted the proposed defence filed by the AG’s Office.
Mrs. Afriyie Ansah requested of the court to give the AG’s Office more time to file a further response, but did not sit well with Transparency International’s lawyer Babalola, who urged the court to award a cost of $1,000 if it was minded to grant such an adjournment.
Presiding Judge, Edward Amoako Asante, pointed out that the late filing with illness resulting from COVID-19 as justification is not tenable.
“The AG is an institution. It’s not an individual. If you were not here today, does it mean no one will come?” he quizzed.
Mr. Babalola said that having flown in from the UK, he deserved reimbursement with the cost.
“They were served as far back as July, 2021. I flew in from the UK two days ago. The expense is unquantifiable,” he said.
The court, therefore, ordered the AG to pay Transparency International $750 dollars.
The AG has also been permitted to file the additional documents by Monday, March 28.
The case will be heard on Wednesday, March 30.
While addressing attendees at the opening ceremony of the sub-regional court on Monday, President Akufo-Addo urged member states of ECOWAS to respect its decisions.
The CCJ, which is sitting from March 21 to April 1, 2022, is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria, the rotational sittings of the court sessions being its agenda to get closer to member countries.