Abu Trica's lawyer breaks silence on his 'wild' TV interview

Lawyer for Ghanaian socialite, Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has broken his silence on his client's decision to grant a television interview while his criminal case is still before a court.

In a video shared by KDN after court proceedings on Monday, July 6, 2026, Barker-Vormawor weighed in on his client's decision and whether it was appropriate, stating that he would never advise a client to grant a media interview while criminal proceedings are ongoing.

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According to him, although he disagreed with his client's decision to speak publicly, the focus should now be on the extradition case before the courts.

"No lawyer will agree for their client to grant an interview in an ongoing case. The incident has happened and there’s nothing to be done.

“What we need to focus on now is the main issue [extradition]. Whether his decision to grant the interview was good or not …it is now in the past,” he said.

When asked whether the interview could affect Abu Trica's case, Barker-Vormawor said the court proceedings remain a priority, stressing that legal matters should be determined in the courtroom, not in the media.

"What matters the most is that the court deals with its cases in the courtroom and not in the media. Those who criticised him did and those who commended him also did. So, no lawyer will advise his client to go on TV to speak about their case when it's in court,” he added.

His comments come weeks after Abu Trica broke his silence in a television interview on Accra-based Onua TV, where he spoke publicly about the allegations against him and the circumstances surrounding his arrest.

In the June 3, 2026, interview, Abu Trica denied claims that the case against him involved $8 million.

He insisted that investigators had admitted the amount linked to the case was $13,000 and questioned how the $8 million figure became associated with the allegations.

"There is no such thing as an $8 million claim in the case against me. They themselves admitted they gave me $13,000,” he said.

Abu Trica also claimed the $8 million allegation emerged during an interrogation after his arrest.

According to him, he was taken from the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) cells at night to a dark conference room where he was questioned by five men.

"The reason behind how the $8 million came about is that they came to arrest me and pick me up at night to NACOC cells. While in the cells, they came and told me that some men needed to interrogate me. It was a dark conference room, and I saw five men, three of whom were white and two were black,” he revealed.

He further alleged that documents were placed before him during the interrogation as part of what he described as a setup.

"They placed some documents in front of me, not knowing it was a setup orchestrated by themselves,” he claimed.

According to Abu Trica, the investigators pressured him to identify the owner of an account they believed did not belong to him.

Abu Trica unpacks $8 million fraud claims in shocking TV interview

"The informant told me to provide an account for them because they knew it did not belong to me. They wanted me to mention the name of the account owner, which I refused to do. They became furious and threatened to charge me with taking $8 million instead of the initial $1 million claim against me,” he continued.

Meanwhile, the High Court has dismissed his emergency application to halt his extradition to the United States.

MAG/VPO

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