Richard Ahiagbah makes damning allegations against President Mahama

The National Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has criticised President John Dramani Mahama following the discontinuation of a legal case involving former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor.

Ahiagbah accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of engaging in selective justice that benefits its affiliates.

In a social media post on Tuesday, July 22, he wrote: “Good afternoon, President John Dramani Mahama. Another pro-NDC person has been cleared of all charges in the banking sector clean-up case. Different rules apply to the NDC; another set applies to the rest of us. Clearer in Chief…”

His comments came after the Attorney General decided to discontinue a financial crimes case against Dr. Duffuor and seven others.

Dr. Duffuor, a former NDC flagbearer aspirant, was charged in February 2020 along with former Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Johnson Asiamah, who had previously served as Second Deputy Governor, and five others. They faced charges including theft and money laundering.

Prosecutors had alleged that Dr. Duffuor received GH¢663.3 million “knowing it had been obtained by means of a criminal offence.”

uniBank was declared insolvent in August 2018 after the Bank of Ghana determined that shareholders and related parties had taken GH¢5.3 billion in loans and withdrawals without adhering to due process.

In a statement dated July 22 and signed by Deputy Minister of Justice Dr. Justice Srem Sai, the Attorney General’s office noted that the nolle prosequi does not amount to exoneration of the accused.

The statement explained that the decision to drop the charges was based on significant recovery of the alleged losses.

It added that, in collaboration with other agencies, a 60% recovery benchmark has been adopted to guide similar prosecutorial decisions in future cases.