The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has set May 30, 2025, as the final date for former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to appear for questioning after his lawyers formally proposed a timeline for his return.
Mr Sammy Darko, Director for Strategy, Research, and Communication at the OSP, said in an interview on Citi FM on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 that Mr Ofori-Atta was declared wanted because he failed to provide a clear date for his appearance, despite multiple requests.
“Our difficulty was that Mr Ofori-Atta is a suspect in a corruption-related case, and he was summoned to appear before the OSP.
His lawyers had been writing on his behalf, but they never gave a specific date,” Mr Darko said.
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He explained that after exhausting all options to get Mr Ofori-Atta to cooperate, the OSP had no choice but to declare him wanted.
“Unless a person is charged, you cannot take them to court. And you can’t try someone in absentia unless they have already been charged and failed to appear in court,” he added.
Mr Darko revealed that Mr Ofori-Atta’s lawyers have now proposed between May 14 and May 30, 2025, for his appearance.
The OSP has accepted May 30 as the final deadline and has removed his name from the wanted list.
He warned that if the former minister fails to appear, legal measures will be taken to bring him back to Ghana.
He also dismissed calls for the OSP to travel abroad to interrogate him.
“This is not just about taking statements. The process may involve an arrest, and the OSP cannot carry out an arrest in a foreign country,” he stated.
Mr Darko maintained that the OSP acted within the law, saying, “People can question our approach, but no one has pointed to any legal breaches.”
