It is possible that the judge who hears Ofori-Atta’s case could decide to have him remain in the US – US lawyer

A United States immigration attorney, Jonelle Ocloo, has explained what it truly means when the US government says it will not interfere in the possible repatriation of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and former MASLOC CEO Sedina Tamakloe.

Speaking on JoyNews on January 14, 2026, she said such assurances apply only to the executive branch of the US government and do not limit the authority of American courts.

“So, to be clear, when the United States government says that… without prejudice to judicial processes, they will not interfere… when we say the United States government, we’re speaking of the United States executive,” she explained.

She named the executive bodies involved as “the United States Department of State, Department of Justice, [and] Department of Homeland Security.”

Ocloo stressed that the US operates a strict separation of powers, meaning judges are not bound by decisions or assurances from the executive.

“Whereas the executive may say that, okay, we are not going to interfere with Ghana’s request to have Mr Ofori-Atta removed back to Ghana, Mr Ofori-Atta still has access to the courts in the United States. So, it is possible that the judge who hears his case could decide to have him remain in the United States,” she said.

She further explained that extradition and deportation are different legal processes and can proceed at the same time.

“The extradition request is to return to Ghana to face charges in Ghana, that is one process. Separately, is the possibility of a deportation process, which many people don’t realise has nothing to do with a criminal.

“Someone being deported from the US is a civil charge. It’s simply because either they’ve overstayed their visa, or in this case, his visa has been canceled,” she stated.

According to the lawyer, cooperation between Ghana and the US is likely, especially in relation to deportation, which she described as more straightforward.

However, she noted that extradition is more complicated.

“I do think that to some extent, yes, there’s cooperation between the two governments… in many ways, the process of deportation is more of a simple process, meaning if he doesn’t have a visa, which now the US government has revoked, and if he does not have another ground by which to be in the US, then he can be deported.

“Whereas when it comes to the extradition process, he actually has to go before the US federal court for the judge here in America to decide if Ghana can extradite him back to the country,” she concluded…CONTINUE MORE READING>>>