Godfred Yeboah Dame and Dr Dominic Ayine
Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has accused the current Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, of spreading what he called blatant falsehoods and engaging in deliberate attempts to undermine the Office of the Attorney-General.
In a statement issued on July 29, 2025, Dame dismissed as “palpably false” Dr Ayine’s assertion during a press conference on July 28 that it took the Attorney-General’s office six months to file witness statements in the high-profile trial of Republic v Ato Forson & 2 Others.
Dame clarified that the accused were first arraigned on January 18, 2022, and the court directed the prosecution to file disclosures by February 15, 2022.
According to him, the Office of the Attorney-General filed all necessary documents, including witness statements and exhibits, by February 14, 2022, within 27 days of arraignment.
“The Office of the Attorney-General never, on a single occasion in the Ato Forson trial, requested further time to file a witness statement, or indeed, any document at all,” Dame said.
Dame further accused Dr Ayine of attempting to whitewash his legal representation of former clients now caught in the dragnet of financial crime prosecutions.
He said Ayine’s use of nolle prosequi, a power to discontinue prosecution, amounted to a veiled effort to shield former clients from justice.
“Dr Ayine ought to have disclosed that he was exercising nolle prosequi in favour of his former clients,” Dame stated.
Refuting claims by Dr Ayine of recovering assets in the Unibank case, Dame asserted that all assets linked to the Duffuors and related companies had already been identified by the Receiver appointed by the Bank of Ghana.
“To date, Dr Ayine has not recovered a single Cedi in the Unibank matter.” He demanded evidence of any new asset discovery or monetary recovery.
He also questioned the legal basis for Ayine’s proposed use of already identified assets to defray debts.
Dame also revisited the Republic v. Ato Essien case, highlighting that the former Capital Bank CEO was convicted under a lawful process after a failed payment plan.
In sharp contrast, Dame criticised Ayine’s decision to strike deals with accused persons in other financial cases, calling for consistency in the administration of justice.
Read his complete statement below:
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