Mr. Alfred Tuah-Yeboah, a former Deputy Attorney General of the Republic of Ghana, has described the Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) programme as being toothless. According to him, he will not not honour invitations by the committee.
As he spoke on JoyNews’ AM Show on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, the former deputy Attorney General said, “I see ORAL as a toothless institution without the power to investigate or engage in many activities.” His statement was a response to the question by the host, on whether he thought the initiative could help address the corruption issues in the country.
He expressed reservations about the capacity of some members of the committee, saying they lack the legal backing to prosecute.
“Martin Kpebu who just spoke, is a private legal practitioner. He doesn’t have the power to investigate, nor does he have the authority to mount prosecutions. So, if Martin Kpebu were to invite me, I wouldn’t attend, even if I were corrupt. And even if I were corrupt, and the Police or EOCO invited me, I would not dare,” he said.
Moreover, the former attorney general doubts if the committee could effect some positive changes in the fight against corruption. According to him, already there are insitutions mandated to carry out investigation into corruption related cases.
Mr. Tuah-Yeboah further remarked, “In my opinion, they cannot help in any way with the fight against corruption. We have state institutions for that purpose. If we have resources, they should be channelled to these state institutions so they can do their job,” he said
His comments made were addressing the reports of corruption related reports, which were submitted by Honourable Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, leader of the ORAL, to the President and the current Attorney General, on February 10, 2025.
Government’s ORAL team has been facing opposition, especially from the opposition NPP over lack of legal backing to carry out investigations into corruption related cases.
However, the committee has explained that it does not seek to investigate, rather, its mandate is to gather information pending investigation by the responsible authority.
On February 10, 2025, the leader of the committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa submitted the committee’s report on reported cases on corruption. The report was subsequently submitted to the Attorney General for investigation. If successful in a possible prosecution, the state is reported to recover about $20 billion.
Meanwhile, before investigations, the former Auditor General, Charles Dormelevo has recommeded that an audit be conducted.
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