‘Take the report and use it as leads’ – Former Attorney General to government

Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Nii Ayikoi Otoo, has called on government to take decisive actions by implementing the contents of the illegal mining report by the former chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on illegal mining, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

In a 3news report, he said the galamsey menace is having a devastating effect on the environment hence, the need for government to exhaust all available legal means to address it.

Key to that fight, Mr Otoo said is the implementation of the IMCIM report.

“Take the report and use it as leads,” he was quoted to have said.

In reaction to the news of the arrest of Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, the former Attorney General, described it as a bizarre act.

“The report shows his frustrations and the support that he couldn’t get in fighting galamsey, if there is something to be done why won’t you focus on the report.. and now the complainant has been arrested and granted bail," he said.

“It is diversionary, that is my view,” he added.

Background:

The former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, and then chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Minning, gave a detailed account of his arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

In an interview with 3news, the renowned surgeon provided a full account of his invitation to the OSP's office on May 15, 2023, which culminated in his arrest and subsequent bail.

"We waited at the lobby down there, and that was my first time in that building," he said.

"We arrived around 10 o'clock, waiting for my lawyer. When he came, we were taken upstairs to the 7th floor, where the office is, and then we were ushered into a room. I was given a chair, and opposite me was the Chief Investigator.

"On my right, there were my two lawyers, and then some officers from that office.

"So, as soon as I sat down, the Chief Investigator came to me. I was sitting down, and then he put his left hand on my right shoulder and said, 'Professor, you are under arrest.'

"Why? He said they are investigating corruption and corruption-related activities of the IMCIM that I was chairman of. Any specific thing I had done? No, they are just doing their investigations, but all the same, I was under arrest," Prof. Frimpong Boateng said.

According to him, he found the arrest "strange," considering preceding events, including some lawsuits brought against him.

Prof. Boateng-Boateng further revealed that he was subjected to two hours of investigation at the OSP's office before being granted a GHC2 million bail.

"They did not even suggest self-recognizance bail. I needed somebody to bail me. So, a friend of mine was down there, and he came up and bailed me, and so I left, and they went with my friend to his house."

He added that he is expected to report back to the OSP for further investigation.

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