Nana Akufo-Addo, Attorney General and Minister of Justice on Friday instructed the Director of Public Prosecutions to prefer charges of stealing against Mallam Yusif Isa, the dismissed Sports Minister.
“I have considered the report and have asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to put the ex-Minister before court.”
Nana Akufo-Addo told the Ghana News Agency that after going through the police committee’s report his office has found a prima facie case against Mallam Isa, who will have to stand trial.
Commenting on the committee’s recommendations, he explained that the police could not direct that people should be put on trial. It is the A-G’s office that decides.
He, however, expressed concern about how the report was leaked to the Daily Graphic, saying, “This is something we are treating as a confidential document till the A-G’s office has studied and come out with its recommendation.”
He said the leakage would be investigated since there were only a handful of persons, who had access to it.
Mallam Isa was sacked by the President when 46,000 dollars entrusted into his care to be paid as bonuses to the senior national team during a world cup qualifying match in Sudan got missing under mysterious circumstances.
Mr. Ernest Owusu-Poku, Acting Inspector General of Police set up a three-man committee chaired by Mr. Sam Awotwi, Head of Legal and Prosecutions Department of the Police Service to investigate the loss.
Among other things, the committee found that Mallam Isa was rather casual about the loss and did not tell Mr Kojo Bonsu and the GFA officials in Khartoum about the amount of money missing or details of the other items allegedly stolen.
It also found that the 46,000 dollars was not kept in the suitcase and the suitcase was not forcibly opened as its security combination lock was functionally perfect.
The report said it was not possible to pull any of the items allegedly stolen from the suitcase through the small hole as a result of the damage to one of the wheels under the suitcase. The items included the 46,000 dollars in a brown envelope, 2,500 dollars, two rings, two wristwatches, one complete Agbada, a Kente cloth and an auditor’s report.
The lining inside the suitcase, which must necessarily be destroyed for anything to be taken out through the hole, was intact.
The committee, therefore, recommended that the ex-minister should be held personally responsible for and made to refund the missing money.
Source: GhanaWeb
