Counsel told me not to report myself to the police - Hajia

Hajia Baby Ocansey, the sole accused person in the $1.5 million Bank of Ghana (BoG) scandal, told an Accra Regional tribunal yesterday that she was advised by her counsel at the time, Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, who is now the Deputy Minister of Local Government, against voluntarily going to the police to report herself.

This was on her return from Tamale in March last year, where she had gone into hiding, inspite of numerous media publications that she was wanted by the police to assist in investigations into the scandal.

According to the accused, Effah-Dartey promised to accompany her to the offices of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) at the appropriate time.

"My counsel advised me not to present myself to the police and that at a suitable time he would sent me to the BNI", she said.

When the Principal State Attorney, Mr. Anthony Gyambiby, insisted that she never had any advice from her counsel and that she made the statement as a result of an after-thought, the accused bounced back to tell the court, presided over by Justice Isaac Douse, that she made two statements at the BNI when she was arrested.

She said, in one she indicated that her counsel, Effah-Dartey, advised her against going to the police but in the other statement, no such indication was stated.

She, therefore, challenged that the second statement, currently with the BNI, should be produced to the court to ascertain the veracity of what she had said.

In the course of the cross-examination, it was revealed that the accused person entered in series of personal and voluntary projects, all borne from the $1.5 million she received from the BoG.

Responding to questions on how she used the money she collected from the bank from the prosecutor, Baby Ocansey confirmed that she footed the bill of 42 people who went to Hajj, donated money in the completion of two school buildings in Nima and Zongo, all suburbs of Accra and further assisted in the completion of another school in Kosoa in the Central Region, all at a cost she could not recollect pleading it had been a long time since she dished out the money.

Continuing, she told the court that she was currently putting up a mosque at Gan near Tamale in the Northern Region, which is yet to be completed.

When asked the money involved in the project, the accused person held that the money was taken in bits and for that matter the contractor is the only person who is capable of providing the total amount spent on the construction of the mosque.

Baby Ocansey also indicated that she provided funds for the construction of a school at Ejura in Ashanti, the value of which she could not immediately recollect in view of the length of time since the project was undertaken.

The accused person furthermore said that out of the $1.5 million which she collected from the bank after and expiry of five weeks needed for clearance of the draft, she gave $1.15 million to Jabel, her business partner, $10,000 to the BoG officials who aided in the clearance of the draft, $30,000 to her son-in-law, Abubakar Siddique Gimala, $20,000 to Nefisa, leader of the National Assembly of Moslem Women in Wa in the Upper West Region and $70,000 to one Aboagye, a friend, to purchase cars from New York.

The amount given to Aboagye, according to the accused, was meant for the purchase of three Pajeros and other second-hand four-wheel drive vehicles for the National Assembly of Moslem Women of Ghana.

The accused said after the money was given to Aboagye, he never bought the vehicle and the money is still with him.

Continuing, she told the court that Aboagye threatened her that he would report her to the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, but could not tell if really he made the report after she (Baby Ocansey) had demanded the return of the money given to him.

To a question she replied, "I am not a thief and I cannot do that," adding that the Bank informed her to come for the money, which she did.

Counsel for the accused G. D. A. Laryea, then told the court that on the next adjourned date the defense would produce a witness to testify.

Sitting adjourned to 29th of this month.