The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah-Dame, has called on the Public to completely disregard the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) accusations against him, describing them as “baseless and unmeritorious.”
The NDC on Monday, October 16, urged Ghanaians to reject a recent legal opinion offered by Godfred Dame, on the report authored by Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
At a press conference addressed by the National Communications Officer of the party, Sammy Gyamfi, the NDC alleged that the Attorney-General’s advice referring to portions of the report as lacking evidence is nothing but a cover-up and an attempt to whitewash the damning report.
The opposition party went further to describe his legal advice as “a poor attempt to cover-up”.
However, Mr. Yeboah-Dame in a statement has denied these accusations, stating that he cannot advise for the prosecution of individuals when there is a lack of evidence. He added that he is committed to upholding the rule of law and prosecuting all criminals, regardless of their political affiliation.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, Mr Yeboah-Dame said the NDC’s accusations are nothing but a desperate attempt to cover up for their own failures to fight the galamsey menace when they were in power.
“In spite of a multitude of allegations and invectives spewed on me by the Communications Officer of the NDC, not a single piece of evidence was furnished by the NDC in proof of any allegation made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng against any person named in his report. The entire NDC’s press conference was, in point of fact, vitiated by a fraudulent attempt at explaining their orchestrated lies and abuses against me, as they are wont to do.
“The wild allegation that I am engaged in an exercise to cover up crimes allegedly committed by them is therefore perplexing, dubious and mischievous to say the least. I deem that press conference by the NDC as only the latest in the series of attacks on me for decisions taken in the regular course of my functions as Attorney-General which that political party finds to be
inimical to its interests.
“I respectfully urge the public to utterly disregard the discredited assertions of the NDC as unmeritorious and lacking any form of credibility. It is the height of injustice to prosecute people for crimes when there is no evidence. It is for this reason that the Office of Attorney-General did not prosecute either Prof Frimpong-Boateng or his son, Jojo Frimpong-Boateng in the face of allegations by the Adansiman Progressive Association that they were seriously engaged in Galamsey.”