Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, has objected to claims by some members of the public that Dr. Ayine’s optimism about securing convictions in ongoing court cases is prejudicial.
He says Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney-General, likewise every other prosecutor, is being optimistic about getting conviction based on the evidence he has gathered on the cases he is investigating.
His statement comes on the back of criticism from a section of the public that the A-G is being prejudicial with some comments he is making to the effect of securing conviction for Kwabena Adu-Boahene, a former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, who is accused of transferring state funds to his personal account.
According to critics, the Attorney-General is being prejudicial with the comments since the matter is yet to be determined by the court.
But speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 Monday, March 24, 2025, Dr. Srem-Sai debunked the claims of his boss being prejudicial with his comments saying “every prosecutor, when going to court, has only one statement to make and that is the only valid statement to make; [which] is that, with the evidence I have, I expect to have a conviction.”
“The moment you’re a prosecutor and you cannot make that statement to yourself or to any other person, then you have no business going to court,” he stated.
Dr. Srem-Sai continued that those having reservations about the A-G’s comments have no case since the Constitution only empowers the Attorney-General as a prosecutor and not an arbiter of the courts.
“So, the impression being created as though the Attorney-General is a judge, who can make statements to prejudice his own case is neither here nor there. If you’re an Attorney-General or a prosecutor, it is actually expected of you to state that you have evidence which should lead to conviction. That is why the makers of the law did not make the Attorney-General the judge,” he added.
Background
The Attorney-General at a press conference in Accra Monday, March 24, 2025, asserted that Adu-Boahene allegedly misappropriated US$7 million earmarked for the procurement of cybersecurity infrastructure.
The A-G says the contract was signed between the Minister and an Israeli firm, RLC Holdings Limited, on January 30, 2020, to supply the cyber defence system software.
But barely a week after the contract was signed, the Dr. Ayine indicated that Adu-Boahene allegedly transferred an initial sum of GH¢27.1 million from the National Signals Bureau’s Fidelity Bank account to a UMB private account of BNC, the private firm he set up with his wife.
Meanwhile, the amount, despite it being transferred into his personal account, was recorded as payment for the cyber defence system software according to the Attorney-General.
Dr. Ayine, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East, averred further that subsequent investigations revealed the transferred funds were redirected to a private company owned by Adu-Boahene, rather than being used for the purchase of the cyber defense system software.
“In his capacity as Director of the National Signals Bureau, Mr. Adu-Boahene on January 30, 2020, signed a contract on behalf of the government of Ghana and the National Security on one hand and the other hand, an Israeli company named RLC Holdings Limited. The contract was for the purchase of a cyber defence system software at a price of $7 million.
“On February 6, 2020, he then transferred an initial amount of GH¢27,100,000 from the National Signals Bureau account at Fidelity Bank to a private BNC account at UMB. Official documentation on the transfer reveals that the amount was for the payment of cyber defence system software. He transferred the money to his private company,” Dr. Ayine stated.
He disclosed further that Adu-Boahene and his wife used the proceeds of the transfer to acquire many landed properties in both Ghana and abroad over the period the monies were transferred into their private account.
The lawmaker added that Mr Adu-Boahene and his wife are still in detention and that other suspects are also being pursued for prosecution to commence.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-General has said the wife of Adu-Boahene and others who have been arrested in connection with the issue will be released for the man to be detained whilst investigations and prosecution takes place.
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