<<Print>>

An Accra High Court has given the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) up to March 20, to indicate whether it intends to continue with its investigations into the payment of the GH�51.2 million judgement debt, to businessman, Alfred Woyome. Former Minister of Education, Youth hand Sports, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, initiated the action to challenge the constitutionality of EOCO�s investigations and its decision to invite him to testify in investigations covering the payment. The court gave order following recent developments such as EOCO�s submission of an interim report on its investigations to the President on February 2, which resulted in the arrest and prosecution of Mr. Woyome and three others. The police have since been investigating the issues and events surrounding the payment and Appeal Court Judge, Justice Dennis Adjei�s hearing the case, wanted to know if EOCO would continue its enquiry. At the court�s sitting on Monday, counsel for the EOCO, Dr. Philip Anderson, said he could not tell whether his client would continue the investigations or not, since the police were also investigating the matter. According to him, that would be the decision of the executives of the EOCO. The court adjourned the case to March 20, to enable EOCO to declare its intention. Mr. Osafo-Maafo, claims in his action that public utterances by the President, the Deputy Attorney-General and the EOCO on the matters clearly indicated bias and the likelihood that the investigations would be prejudiced against him. He is, accordingly, praying the court to declare that the purported investigations being undertaken by EOCO into what he termed suspected serious offences, including fraud in the award and execution of contract for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008, and an invitation to him to assist in investigations, were unlawful to the extent that they were issues raised in a report of the Auditor-General duly laid before Parliament. The plaintiff is further praying the court to declare that the circumstances involving the payment of GH�58,095,974.13 to Mr. Woyome and the acts and utterances of the President, the Deputy Attorney-General and the EOCO disabled EOCO from acting in a fair and reasonable manner. Mr. Osafo-Maafo, also wants the court to declare that the purported investigations by EOCO were actuated by bias and prejudice and, therefore, unlawful under the 1992 Constitution. The action therefore seeks an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the defendant from proceeding with the investigations into the suspected serious offences, including fraud in the award and execution of contract for the construction of stadia for CAN 2008, as well as other reliefs the court might deem fit.