The legal team defending former National Signals Bureau Director-General Kwabena Adu Boahen says its next focus will be securing access to evidence it believes could be critical to proving his innocence in the ongoing criminal trial.
Lead counsel Samuel Atta Akyea maintained that Adu Boahen remains innocent and expressed confidence that the defence would be vindicated if what he described as withheld evidence is made available.
His comments followed a decision by the High Court in Accra to dismiss the defence’s objection to the Attorney General’s withdrawal of charges against the third accused, Mildred Donkor.
Donkor has subsequently been discharged from the case and is expected to testify as a prosecution witness, a development that represents a shift in the prosecution’s case against Adu Boahen and the other accused persons.
Despite the ruling, Mr Atta Akyea said the defence remained determined to pursue avenues through which it could obtain information it considers necessary for a fair trial.
“We are fortified that our client is very innocent but we will fight on, and I am sure another forum will compel the disclosures to come to us and we can do a good job because these are the weapons of our warfare,” he said.
In an interview on Citi Eyewitness News on Friday, October 17, he further argued that evidence the defence believes is being withheld could ultimately work in his client’s favour.
“What they are trying to hide is what will set us free,” he said.
The case centres on allegations involving the theft and misappropriation of about GH¢49 million in state funds. Adu Boahen is facing the charges alongside his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, and their company, Advantage Solutions Limited.
The Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, withdrew the case against Donkor under Section 59 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30) after she reportedly agreed to testify for the prosecution.
The move prompted an objection from Adu Boahen’s legal team, which argued that the withdrawal should have been effected through a formal motion given the implications for the case.
However, Justice John Nyadu Nyante ruled that the Attorney General had acted within his constitutional mandate and dismissed the defence’s objection.
The ruling means the prosecution can proceed with Donkor as a potential witness, while the defence turns its attention to other legal avenues to obtain the information it says is necessary to challenge the allegations.
Mr Atta Akyea has maintained that full disclosure of relevant evidence is essential to ensuring that Adu Boahen receives a fair trial.
The defence is therefore expected to continue pursuing the disclosure issue as the substantive case progresses, insisting that the evidence it is seeking could have a significant bearing on the outcome of the proceedings.
