Excerpts of the much talked about recorded audio which is rocking the ongoing legal battle between the Republic and Minority Leader Dr. Ato Forson has emerged with stunning details.
Richard Jakpa, the third accused in the case, made explosive allegations against Attorney-General Godfred Dame. On Thursday, May 23, Jakpa claimed in court that Dame had repeatedly approached him, even at unconventional hours, to gather evidence against Dr. Forson.
Jakpa declared, “The AG has, on several occasions, engaged me at odd hours to help him make a case against A1, and I have evidence for that. If he pushes me, I’ll open Pandora’s box. I don’t understand why the AG accuses me of defending A1 when I’m here to defend myself.”
The evidence Jakpa refers to includes an audio recording of a meeting that purportedly took place a month ago involving himself, a Supreme Court judge, and the Attorney-General. According to credible sources, this meeting occurred at the judge’s house. The Supreme Court judge had invited Dame for a discussion, during which Jakpa was also present.
Jakpa had initially tried to negotiate a plea bargain directly with the Attorney-General but failed. Subsequently, he sought the judge’s assistance to facilitate the negotiation. During the recorded meeting, Dame reportedly advised Jakpa to stick to the facts of the case in his testimony to secure a plea bargain. Dame emphasized that Jakpa should provide factual evidence showing that Dr. Forson’s actions caused financial loss to the state.
However, Jakpa, who secretly recorded the meeting, expressed his unwillingness to incriminate Dr. Forson. In the recording, Jakpa is heard saying, “You want me to testify to incriminate the Honorable Minority Leader Dr. Forson? No, I can’t do that.” Dame responded by clarifying that he was not asking Jakpa to do anything illegal but merely to stick to the documented facts.
Jakpa has since handed over the secret recording to members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). According to sources within the NDC, there have been several meetings at a former Chief of Staff’s residence to discuss how to release the recording without incriminating Jakpa and the Supreme Court judge.
Our source within the NDC also tells us that they have been series of meeting held at certain former chief of staff’s house on how to doctor and release the recorded audio without incriminating Mr Jakpa and the Supreme Court Judge.
Meanwhile the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice stated that the latest allegation is part of a grand scheme by the NDC to put more pressure on him to discontinue the prosecution or to divert attention from the real issues
“The Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice considers the latest allegation levelled against the Attorney-General as part of a grand scheme by the NDC to put more pressure on him to discontinue the prosecution or to divert attention from the real issues regarding the actions of the accused persons which have caused enormous financial loss to the State.
“The Attorney-General has also come under enormous pressure from all manner of persons for him to discontinue the prosecution of the 1st accused person, Cassiel Ato Forson, but has not yielded.”
The A-G said neither the Attorney-General nor any officer from the Office of the Attorney-General has approached any of the accused persons with the view to obtaining evidence from them.
Source: MyInfo.com.gh