Former Attorney-General and Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has strongly criticised the Mahama administration\u2019s decision to file a nolle prosequi in the case of Republic v. Kwabena Duffuor & 7 Others, labelling it a textbook example of nepotistic governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amidu asserted that the decision to abort the trial \u201cstinks of high corruption\u201d and reflects a system of governance dominated by family, friends, and cronies . He cautioned that the government\u2019s reasoning\u2014rooted in prosecutorial discretion\u2014masks deeper issues of unchecked power and systemic bias .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Highlighting concerns over conflict of interest, Amidu emphasised that Attorney\u2011General Dominic Ayine previously served as legal counsel for both Duffuor and HODA Holdings. That prior relationship, he argued, should have disqualified Ayine from overseeing the case or at minimum been disclosed to the public .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Additionally, Amidu lambasted the government for bypassing the legal framework outlined in Ghana\u2019s Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2022. Instead of seeking judicial oversight, the agreement stipulated a 60% recovery of alleged losses as sufficient grounds to discontinue prosecution\u2014a threshold he maintains is arbitrary and improperly enforced .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an opinion piece published on his website, Amidu harshly criticised the decision:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s decision \u2026 smacks of a text book example of governance of family, friends and cronies that also smells of high corruption\u201d .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He further questioned the legitimacy of recovery agreements in the absence of any admission of guilt, saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is the need of The Republic Of Ghana extorting moneys \u2026 if they do not admit any guilt?\u201d .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amidu called on the public to resist what he considers psychological media manipulation dressed as transparency. He urged patriotic citizens to \u201cstep forward and speak truth to the Government\u201d to protect Ghana\u2019s democratic integrity .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Case Background<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case in question stemmed from financial misconduct allegations connected to the collapse of uniBank. Launched in 2020, the prosecution targeted Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, former Finance Minister, Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama, and others. On July 22, 2025, the Attorney\u2011General\u2019s Office officially discontinued the case after securing a financial recovery agreement reportedly meeting a 60% threshold of state losses .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Implications and Reaction<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amidu\u2019s critique has intensified scrutiny of the administration\u2019s approach to financial-sector reform and asset recovery. His allegations of cronyism and abuse of prosecutorial discretion will likely fuel broader debates over accountability, judicial independence, and political influence in public prosecutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the controversy unfolds, stakeholders\u2014including civil society, opposition parties, and legal watchdogs\u2014are expected to demand explanations, transparency on professional disclosures by public officers, and potential legislative review of plea-bargaining procedures in asset recovery cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grace Tsotsoo Quaye, The Ghana Report, contributed press coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former Attorney-General and Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has strongly criticised the Mahama administration\u2019s decision to file a nolle prosequi in the case of Republic v. Kwabena Duffuor & 7 Others, labelling it a textbook example of nepotistic governance. Amidu asserted that the decision to abort the trial \u201cstinks of high corruption\u201d and reflects a system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":32523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43,1],"tags":[4791,11264,217,11110,7358,7960,11555,9233,10767,7593,1384,11337,913,4920,5455,12354,1470,6225,6569,192,2264,8601,5205,1184,5721,130,2652,9833,11167,1409,6258,11581,146,1181],"class_list":["post-45787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-abuse","tag-allegations","tag-amidu","tag-asset","tag-bank","tag-case","tag-citizens","tag-collapse","tag-conflict","tag-controversy","tag-corruption","tag-demand","tag-democratic","tag-dr-stephen-opuni","tag-family","tag-finance","tag-former-finance-minister","tag-friends","tag-fuel","tag-ghana","tag-government","tag-independence","tag-july","tag-kwabena-duffour","tag-losses","tag-mahama","tag-martin-amidu","tag-meeting","tag-prosecution","tag-special-prosecutor","tag-transparency","tag-trial","tag-truth","tag-unibank"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45787"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45787\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45788,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45787\/revisions\/45788"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}