The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called for the immediate resignation of the Attorney-General (AG), Godfred Yeboah Dame, for not prosecuting a number of government officials cited in a 36-page report on Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) for their alleged involvement in some illegal acts.
The NDC described the AG’s attempt to cover up those officials as “dubious” stressing that “even if they are let off the hook today, they will not escape the long arm of the law tomorrow because crime has no expiry”.
Addressing a press conference dubbed: “Moment of Truth” in Accra yesterday, the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, further warned that if the officials were not prosecuted, the party would use all the legal and approved channels to compel the AG to resign.
He called on the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng to expedite his investigations into the matter to immediately prosecute all those found culpable.
The 36-page document titled “Report on the work of IMCIM so far and the way forward”, cited, among other persons, Laud Commey, Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe, Frank Asiedu Bekoe a.k.a. Protozoa, Joseph Albert Quarm, Charles Owusu, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, Captain (Rtd.) Edmund Kojo Koda, Donald Entsuah and an unnamed former Member of Parliament for Wassa East Constituency, as being involved in illegal mining activities.
The IMCIM was chaired by the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
Mr Gyamfi alleged that the AG’s legal advice referring to portions of the report as lacking evidence was nothing but a cover-up and an attempt to whitewash the damning report.
Lack of evidence
He further accused the AG of hiding behind the so-called lack of evidence in a coordinated attempt to shield several government and New Patriotic Party (NPP) officials from prosecution.
Citing what the party refers to as “corroborative evidence”, the NDC faulted the AG for failing to prosecute the owners of Heritage Imperial Limited, formerly C&J Aleska, a company whose operations were indicted by the report.
Public domain
The party noted that evidence abound in the public domain, including a documentary by an Accra-based radio station which exposed widespread destruction of the Kobro section of the Apamprama forest reserve in the Amansie area of the Ashanti Region.
The NDC further questioned the AG’s decision to defer the prosecution of persons it claimed were involved in the stealing and sale of seized excavators.
They cited a number of individuals, who were reported to the police by Prof. Frimpong Boateng sometime in 2019 as being responsible for the missing excavators.
The NDC alleged that there were other compelling evidence supported by both the report and records with the Ghana Police Service, which indicted some other individuals as syndicate behind the sale of at least 27 excavators seized from illegal miners.
SOURCE: GraphicOnline
