‘If you don’t respect me, you can’t come to me’ – Amidu tells Deputy AG in court

Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu on Wednesday clashed in court with Deputy Attorney, General Godfred Yeboah Dame.

While the Special Prosecutor remarked “if you don’t respect me you can’t come to me”, the Deputy AG said Mr Amidu had no right to suggest his office was not working towards retrieving some €47 million paid to Waterville Holdings Limited.

Mr Amidu had dragged the AG to the apex court in his private capacity saying the state was failing to retrieve the money.

The Supreme Court, however, urged Mr Amidu to cooperate with the AGs office. Mr Amidu proceeded to submit to the AG’s office documents he maintains could assist the office to enforce the court’s order.

Wednesday proceedings

When the court presided over by Justice Baffoe Bonnie called the case on Wednesday, the Deputy AG was the first to speak.

He expressed concerns over the documents Mr Amidu had filed. He said while they don’t help the issue of retrieval substantively he didn’t think it ought to have been filed as though it was a written address to the court.

The Panel hearing the case, however, responded to the Deputy AG that the cooperation it called for could take various forms and what had been presented by Mr Amidu satisfies the court.

Deputy AG demands dismissal of case

Deputy AG Godfred Yeboah Dame then proceeded to urge the court to dismiss the application filed by Mr Amidu since it was incompetent. He explained that the rules of the court do not allow for such an application.

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“The application as has been filed is incompetent”, Mr Dame said.

Amidu responds

The Special Prosecutor responded that he filed the application due to the peculiar situation he found himself in.

He explained that the case in which the Supreme Court ordered retrieval of the money, he was the plaintiff with the AG, Waterville and Woyome as defendants.

He proceeded that it was interesting in that one of the losing defendants was in this scenario the one required to enforce the decision which was not being done.

Deputy AG Responds

Deputy AG Godfred Dame rebutted that the Special Prosecutor was creating the impression that the AG’s office was not bent on retrieving the money.

He also stated that this is why Mr. Amidu leaked the documents he submitted to the AG’s office to the press.

Amidu reacts

Martin Amidu took offence as he remarked that he wasn’t a publisher and cannot be held responsible for publications in the press.

“Where is the evidence that I am responsible for the publication?” Mr Amidu asked.

Mr Yeboah Dame rebutted that the Special Prosecutor indeed told the press that the AG’s office wasn’t working to retrieve the money.

He maintained the Special Prosecutor said this in an interview on a TV programme dubbed “Time with David”. He urged the court to rule on his request that the application is incompetent.

The Special Prosecutor reacted once again that he doesn’t like it when he’s tagged as someone who tells lies

“I don’t want to be tagged as someone who lies”, the Special Prosecutor stated.

He added that the court’s decision could well affect the desire of citizens to expend their limited resources to ensure that laws of the state are respected.

Court intervenes

The Panel raised concerns about instances where lawyers speak to the press while their case is pending in court. It urged lawyers to desist from such practices as it often is a one-sided commentary.

The court dismissed the application filed by Martin Amidu describing it as incompetent.

Deputy AG reacted to the ruling in open court by saying he was going to call the Special Prosecutor to cooperate with him.

Mr Amidu was at this point walking away from the seat reserved for lawyers remarked that “if you don’t respect me you can’t come to me”.

He took his seat in the public gallery and could be heard saying “my son is even older than you. You don’t respect” as he pointed towards the Deputy AG.

The case was heard by Justices Baffoe-Bonnie, Sule Gbadegbe, Alfred Benin, Marful-Sau and Agnes Dordzie

Meanwhile, JoyNews is learning the AG’s office intends to pursue the retrieval of the money with the assistance of the Special Prosecutor.