A law lecturer at the University of Professional Studies – Accra (UPSA), Justice Abdulai, has backed President John Dramani Mahama’s comment that government might consider outsourcing some ORAL cases to private legal firms.
Abdulai, who had earlier made a proposal to that effect, after the establishment of the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) committee, says he was pushing for the initiative to expedite prosecution and allow the Attorney-General’s Office to concentrate on other matters.
He tells Alfred Ocansey on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, that it is good his call is now being considered by the government to help with prosecution of cases.
“When ORAL was put together, I recommended that the President puts together a specific purposefully team to investigate the ORAL allegations and prosecute same because of the voluminous work and the attention that needed to be paid to the ORAL, so that it takes the burden from the Attorney-General’s Office directly onto private hands,” he stated
According to him, “in the same recommendation, I also advocated for the Attorney-General to license private law firms and lawyers to take up the multiplicity of prosecutions and free up the few hands in the A-G’s office to take up other businesses.”
He explained that the inclusion of the private sector in the corruption fight is the surest bet for victory against the canker since their inclusion would be free the political interference tag the Attorney-General’s Office has suffered over the years.
“The private sector playing a critical role in the fight against corruption is a key to unlocking all the political interference and political difficulties the A-G is going through. Because if a private man is responsible, he will make sure he delivers, and if he delivers, he knows that he gets value for money,” he stated.
Justice Abdulai, however, indicated that prosecution in itself would go a long way to help the fight against graft, and not securing conviction in itself.
“These recommendations are not necessarily in saying that it is only when one secures conviction that you have done your job. Because there are times where just the facts of prosecution is enough to tell the story and also expose acts of corruption and other things,” he stated.
His comments come on the back of President Mahama’s disclosure that government may consider giving out some of the ORAL prosecutions to be handled by private legal firms to speed up the process.
ORAL: Mahama hints at outsourcing some cases to private legal firms to speed up prosecution
