Ofori-Atta should not have been declared a fugitive in the first place – Legal Team

Lawyers of  Ken Ofori-Atta have said that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) should not have declared the former Finance Minister a fugitive from justice in the first place.

Bright Okyere Agyekum, a member of Ofori-Atta’s legal team, said that the previous discussion on a specific date for the return of Mr Ofori-Atta had not been concluded when the OSP declared him a wanted person.

“That should not have taken place in the first place. If you look at the series of correspondence between the OSP and lawyers for Mr Ken Ofori-Atta it was evident that the parties were having communications and were discussing possible dates for the investigation or for his attendant.

“The parties had not concluded their deliberations, so with a little more time, they would have settled on what they settled on today [ the returning date]. So I think that he ought not to have been declared a fugitive or a person fleeing from justice,” he said on the Agenda show on TV3 on Tuesday, February 18.

Bright Okyere Agyekum further denied claims that Mr Ofori-Atta stated he was out of Ghana indefinitely for which he was declared a fugitive from justice. He said the records available to the Office of the OSP do not support that claim.

“Let me state on record that it has never been Ofori-Atta’s case that he said with is out of the country indefinitely, he has never posted himself as such he has already been really to avail himself.

“The records are available, and the letters from both sides are all over the place. Ofori-Atta never stated anywhere that he was indefinitely out of the country,” he said.

Prior to his comments, the OSP had announced on that same day that Mr Ofori-Atta had been removed from its wanted list after officially informing them of his definite return to Ghana from the United States where he is receiving medical treatment.

On 12 February 2025, the Special Prosecutor declared Mr Ofori-Atta, a wanted person and a fugitive from justice on the ground that he had failed to indicate a reasonable time for his return to the jurisdiction – although he had been informed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) that he was a suspect in various suspected corruption and corruption-related cases and he had been directed to physically attend the OSP in Accra on a specified date and at a specified time for interviewing.

On 18 February 2025, Mr. Ofori-Atta transmitted a communication through his lawyers to the OSP by which he stated a definite date of his voluntary return to the jurisdiction, the prosecutor said.

This marks a major shift from Mr. Ofori-Atta’s previous intention of remaining outside the jurisdiction indefinitely, it added.

“On 18 February 2025, the OSP acceded to Mr. Ofori-Atta’s request as it deemed his stated date of voluntary return to the jurisdiction reasonable in the circumstances. On 18 February 2025, the Special Prosecutor rescheduled the date of Mr. Ofori-Atta’s attendance at the OSP taking into account Mr. Ofori-Atta’s stated date of voluntary return to the jurisdiction.

“Consequently, Mr. Ofori-Atta has been removed from the OSP’s list of wanted persons and the OSP ceases to consider Mr. Ofori-Atta a fugitive from justice pending his voluntary return to the jurisdiction circa his stated date.

“If Mr. Ofori-Atta fails to voluntarily return to the jurisdiction circa his stated date, and if Mr. Ofori-Atta fails to attend the OSP on the rescheduled date, he shall be re-entered on the OSP’s list of wanted persons and the OSP shall then consider him a fugitive from justice, and the OSP shall take all necessary legal steps to secure his return to the jurisdiction and attendance at the OSP at our own choosing.

“The OSP is committed to its mandate of ensuring accountability guided by due process and fairness,” the OSP said on its X page on Tuesday, February 18.

📌NOTICE! pic.twitter.com/2VSdWnw6nu

— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) February 18, 2025

OSP declares Ofori-Atta wanted