By Daniel Bampoe
Former Special Prosecutor and anti-corruption crusader, Martin A.B.K. Amidu, has accused the Attorney-General Dominic Ayine of manipulating Ghana’s criminal justice system to shield politically connected individuals from full accountability.
In a strongly worded statement released on July 30, 2025, Amidu condemned the State’s decision to drop criminal charges against former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffour and seven others in the Republic v. Duffour & Others case through the use of nolle prosequi, describing the move as “a textbook example of governance by family, friends, and cronies.”
He described the deal as stinking of high corruption.
Martin Amidu warned that the government’s approach — which allegedly pressures accused persons to pay percentages of alleged financial losses as a condition for escaping prosecution — violates constitutional safeguards, undermines the rule of law, and amounts to institutionalized extortion disguised as asset recovery.
Background: Duffour and the Collapsed Bank
Dr. Kwabena Duffour, a prominent economist and former Minister for Finance, was charged in relation to the collapse of Unibank, one of several banks shut down during Ghana’s 2017–2018 banking sector clean-up.
The charges brought against Duffour and others were for various offences including fraud and misappropriation of depositors’ funds.
In recent weeks, the Attorney-General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, filed a nolle prosequi — a legal instrument that discontinues prosecution without a court verdict — effectively halting the trial.
The decision sparked widespread public debate and speculation, especially given Ayine’s former role as legal counsel for Duffour and his business empire, HODA Holdings.
Amidu pointed out the troubling inconsistency, recalling that Ayine himself had told the High Court on 12 February 2020, while acting as Duffour’s lawyer, that the charges were “grossly misconceived and lacking any legal basis.”
Now, as Attorney-General, Ayine was using the same charges as the foundation for a secretive negotiated settlement involving the payment of 60% of an undisclosed sum allegedly owed.
Legality, Ethics, and the Abuse of Power
According to Martin Amidu, the attempt to recover alleged financial losses by compelling or coercing accused persons into out-of-court compensation agreements — outside the frameworks provided under Section 35 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459) or the Plea Bargaining Act, 2022 (Act 1079) — amounts to a dangerous abuse of state power.
He argued that recovery of assets from accused persons can only follow a conviction where a court has established that a crime has been committed. Without a judgment, Amidu contended, any recovery negotiated under threat of prosecution amounts to “state-sponsored extortion.”
Amidu further questioned why the State would opt for financial settlements with individuals who maintain their innocence, instead of pursuing civil litigation to recover the alleged funds, if wrongdoing could not be definitively proven through criminal proceedings.
The Beige Bank Precedent and Government’s Excuses
Martin Amidu also dismissed the Attorney-General’s invocation of the Beige Bank case — where Michael Nyineku was acquitted by the Court of Appeal shortly after a nolle prosequi was entered — as justification for dropping charges against Duffour.
He said the comparison was “disingenuous” because the State still had the option to pursue civil recovery or even appeal to the Supreme Court.
He implied that the government was using legal technicalities and prosecutorial discretion to avoid the embarrassment of a full trial, which could expose both the weaknesses in the State’s case and the political affiliations of the affiliations
Cronyism and the Politics of Prosecution
At the heart of Amidu’s critique is the assertion that the Mahama administration is governing through selective justice — shielding political allies while branding opponents as corrupt.
He alleged that Duffour’s proximity to the NDC leadership and his role as a political financier rendered him untouchable under the current government.
“Criminal justice administration is being turned into a game of doing favours for the government’s family, friends, and cronies,” he said. “This is not asset recovery. It is high corruption and abuse of power.”
A Call to Action
Martin Amidu concluded with a direct call to Ghanaian citizens to resist what he sees as an orchestrated campaign to manipulate justice and deceive the electorate ahead of the December 2024 elections.
He called on “patriotic citizens” to speak out and hold the government accountable, rejecting what he described as “cheap psychological media operations” designed to mask high-level corruption as transparency.
“I have spoken up. What of you, fellow citizen? Let us put Ghana First!” Amidu challenged.
