President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has applauded Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, for what he describes as a bold and educational approach in handling the recent National Service Authority (NSA) scandal.
Responding to criticism from the New Patriotic Party’s Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagbah — who argued that the Attorney General had prematurely indicted former NSA officials in the public eye — Cudjoe defended the AG’s actions as necessary for public accountability.
“I am totally opposed to your viewpoint that these persons are being persecuted,” Cudjoe stated on Channel One TV‘s The Big Issue on Saturday June 15. “I think rather we should doff our hats to the AG and his department, who are doing what I call public interest education. You see, if you don’t educate the public and carry them along, sometimes even justice could be procured.”
His comments come in the wake of a June 13 press briefing in which the Attorney General disclosed alleged payroll fraud amounting to GH¢548 million and named 12 former NSA officials, including high-profile figures such as Mustapha Ussif, Osei Assibey Antwi, and Gifty Oware-Mensah.
Ahiagbah had criticised the move as a violation of due process and the constitutional presumption of innocence, warning that it could unfairly sway public opinion ahead of court proceedings. He questioned why the AG would “convict people in the court of public opinion” before filing charges.
But Cudjoe believes that the public has a right to be informed, especially in cases involving alleged large-scale misuse of public funds.
For him, transparency from the Attorney General’s office does not equal persecution. Instead, it equips citizens with knowledge and confidence in the justice system.
The Attorney General has maintained that the disclosures are being made for transparency and not for politics.
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