Lead counsel for former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, Ayikoi Otoo, has downplayed the significance of the ECOWAS Court’s interim ruling in the case involving her removal from office, describing celebrations by the Attorney General as premature and unwarranted.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, Ayikoi Otoo questioned why government officials were celebrating when the substantive case had not yet been heard.
“There is no need celebrating the ECOWAS Court ruling. They have a new Chief Justice—would they have reversed everything if the Court said otherwise? What is newsworthy is the preliminary finding that rights may have been violated, and the Attorney General has been given 30 days to respond,” he said.
He further revealed that in October, the legal team wrote to the ECOWAS Court expressing frustration over delays, stating that they were no longer pursuing interim measures and instead wanted a date for the substantive hearing.
Ayikoi Otoo also accused the government of orchestrating the events that led to Justice Torkonoo’s removal, claiming the petitions and subsequent actions were politically motivated.
“They are just playing politics. The whole thing was planned—got some people to write petitions and then went ahead to remove Torkonoo. The reasons given don’t make any sense,” he added, insisting that the former Chief Justice was never provided adequate grounds for the prima facie determination.
This comes after the ECOWAS Court dismissed Justice Torkonoo’s request for interim orders to halt the committee probing her removal and rejected Ghana’s preliminary objection that the Court lacked jurisdiction.
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