A lawyer and lecturer at the Law Faculty of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Justice Abdulai, has said the bail granted Ken Ofori-Atta in the United States will not affect the merit of the case Ghana is seeking before the court.
He has urged Ghanaians to keep their hopes high on the substantive matter before the court, saying a bail is part of rule of law and wouldn’t impact the main matter before the court in any way.
According to him, what Ghana seeks from the former Finance Minister is prosecution and not persecution, expressing optimism that Ofori-Atta will be extradited to the country to account for his stewardship.
“What we are seeking is not necessarily to persecute Ken Ofori-Atta, should he be extradited to Ghana,” he stated on Ghana Tonight on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
“…so, if in the opinion of the court this is something worth doing, it doesn’t affect the merit of the case Ghana is seeking before the US authorities in any way.”
“In view of that, we should still have our hopes high that eventually, Ken Ofori-Atta, would be brought back to Ghana to face justice,” Justice Abdulai added.
His comments follow the release of the former Finance Minister from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody on bail, on a judicial order.
His release has also been confirmed in a statement issued on April 8, by his lawyer, Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo of Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline & Partners.
According to the lawyers, Ofori-Atta is committed to pursuing all matters through lawful channels.
“He remains fully committed to use due process in defence of his rights as guaranteed under the constitution and laws of the United States,” Mr Premo noted.
Ofori-Atta is scheduled to reappear in court on April 27, 2026, for deportation proceedings, as the matter continues to unfold amid missing paperwork and jurisdictional delays.
The bail grant comes after Ofori-Atta’s legal team successfully argued that without a formal extradition request from Ghana on record, the court could not legally consider him a flight risk.
His release was secured through a private bond company, reportedly for a substantial sum.
At a previous hearing in March 2026, the presiding judge had specifically requested sight of Ghana’s extradition request before determining Ofori-Atta’s bail application.
The judge signalled that such documentation would be critical to assessing whether Ofori-Atta posed a flight risk, a key factor in bail decisions.
However, according to sources familiar with the matter, the US Attorney General has not provided a copy of Ghana’s extradition request to the State Attorney for submission to the court. The reasons for this delay, meanwhile, remain unclear.
A source familiar with the proceedings explained, “In the absence of sighting a copy of the extradition request, he could not be deemed a flight risk.”
Ofori-Atta was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 6, 2026, and held at the Caroline Detention Facility in Virginia.
The presiding judge had previously requested that Ghana’s extradition request be submitted to the court to assess bail conditions.
However, the US Attorney General is yet to transmit the document to the State Attorney handling the case.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Special Prosecutor in Ghana continues to pursue its corruption case against the former Finance Minister, awaiting his return.
