The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has justified its insistence that former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, must return to Ghana for interrogation.
In an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, the Director of Strategy, Research and Communication at the OSP, Sammy Darko, clarified that the OSP cannot take a caution statement via Zoom, stressing that no one has ever been arrested virtually in Ghana.
“It seems Mr. Ofori-Atta wants to dictate to us how to handle his case, arrest, and interrogation—but the law doesn’t allow that. Which Ghanaian can do that at a police station?” he asked.
Drawing comparisons, Mr. Darko referenced Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Wontumi), Chairman of the New Patriotic Party in the Ashanti Region, to highlight the principle of cooperation with law enforcement.
“Why didn’t Wontumi resist or refuse to honour the interrogation, or tell the police how to deal with his case?” he queried.
“Before a caution statement can be taken, you must be arrested. Has anybody been arrested through Zoom? How is that possible?” he added.
He emphasized that a caution statement can only be taken after a formal arrest, which has not yet occurred in the case of Mr. Ofori-Atta.
“He is telling us to take his caution statement, as if anyone has told him that’s what we want to do. He is a suspect and cannot dictate how the case is handled. A caution statement can only be taken after an arrest,” Mr. Darko insisted.
He further explained that the caution statement is part of the pre-trial process and that the suspect has the right to remain silent or deny the allegations when it is taken.
“Even with a caution statement, he can decide to speak or not. That’s all part of the process before trial,” he added.
Mr. Darko’s comments come in response to criticism over the OSP’s refusal to conduct the interrogation virtually.
Ken Ofori-Atta has been in the news over the past week after the OSP on Monday, June 2, re-declared him a fugitive. The former minister failed to return to the country to respond to charges relating to alleged corruption and abuse of office during his tenure from 2017 to 2024.
The OSP has insisted that efforts to engage the former minister have been met with non-cooperation, noting that no official medical documentation has been submitted to justify his extended stay abroad.