Tail-end of Addison’s address sounded threatening – Dr Apaak

Convener for the Forum for Governance and Justice, Dr. Clement Apaak, believes Lead Counsel for the petitioners, Philip Addison wanted to please his client Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo so much so that ‘he sounded a bit agitated’.

According to him, Philip Addison presented his oral address as if the case had only begun, and he was now beginning to state his case instead of simply giving a summary of everything that has happened in the past ’46 or so days’.

“I thought that he raised a lot of eyebrows; quite clearly, those of us who watched on TV, we noticed that he looked at the respondent’s bench and turned around almost 360 to look behind him and we could all see who was sitting behind him in that zone; Akufo-Addo (flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, NPP).

“I also noticed that he sounded a bit agitated and almost in a panting mood; I don’t know what happened because he seemed fairly calm until he stood up and looked behind and maybe he became panicky; your senior, your boss is sitting behind you, you feel a little rigid; and you want to do your best perhaps...he came across rather a bit aggressive; maybe that is just his style,” he said cheekily.

Dr Apaak was airing his views on the recently held oral addresses presented by Lead Counsel of the petitioners and respondents at the Supreme Court.

Counsel for both parties, after presenting a written address to the court, were given 30 minutes each to present an oral address; defending and reiterating their position as far as the case was concerned to the nine judges.

Dr Clement Apaak, commenting on the performance of Lawyer Philip Addison, told Suhiyini Alhassan that: “I thought that he spent a lot of time going through figures, and I don’t think that he really gave a good summary of what he has done for the past 46 or so days…I thought the concluding part of his submission were a bit worrying…I found it very disturbing and I think it sounded as though it was threatening…”

He, however, commended counsel for the respondents especially Lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata ‘for doing a fantastic job in exposing the flaws in the petitioner’s case.