The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to withdraw the warrants authorising judges handling the cases of former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahen and former National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab to sit during the legal vacation.
The party wants the two cases suspended until the legal term resumes, arguing that continuing the proceedings during the vacation departs from established practices governing the operation of vacation courts.
The NPP’s position follows the Chief Justice’s decision to allow the cases to proceed during the legal vacation despite objections from lawyers representing the accused persons.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 11, NPP General Secretary Justin Koduah Frimpong urged the Chief Justice to reconsider the decision and allow the cases to resume after the vacation.
“The New Patriotic Party therefore calls on the Chief Justice to immediately withdraw the warrants for vacation trials so that the affected cases resume, like all others, when the legal term reopens,” Mr Koduah said.
He further appealed to the Chief Justice to “heed the petition of the Ghana Bar Association and restore the settled practice governing vacation courts.”
The party’s call comes after the High Court directed on Tuesday that Mr Adu-Boahen and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, could be required to continue cross-examining a prosecution witness if their lawyers failed to appear at the next sitting.
The NPP also demanded that the ultimatum issued by the presiding judge, Justice Francis Achibonga, be withdrawn, insisting that the accused persons should not be compelled to proceed with their cases without lawyers of their choice.
The party said the Chief Justice should “ensure that Monday’s ultimatum to the accused is rescinded, since no person may be compelled to stand trial without counsel of his own choosing.”
The demand follows separate petitions from lawyers Samuel Atta Akyea and Godfred Dame, who represent Mr Adu-Boahen and Mr Hanan Abdul-Wahab respectively, challenging the warrants authorising the judges handling the cases to sit during the legal vacation.
The lawyers cited prior professional commitments during the vacation and requested that the cases be adjourned until October.
They argued that proceeding with the cases during the vacation would create difficulties for lawyers who had already made commitments for the period.
Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, however, rejected the calls, maintaining that decisions on adjournments rest with the courts and cannot be treated as administrative matters that are automatically suspended by the legal vacation.
The Adu-Boahen case has subsequently been adjourned to August 17, 2026, for further case management proceedings.
www.modernghana.com
