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The circumstances under which the Attorney-General's Office doled out GH�42 million of state money to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) bankroller, Alfred Agbesi Woyome, in a supposed court settlement, is getting murkier by the day. On a private radio station last week, in Accra, the Deputy Attorney-General, Ebo Barton Odro, claimed that the Attorney-General's (AG's) office was forced to offer what amounted to �42 billion in the old currency, in a court settlement, because the state had no defence against the claim. Mr. Barton Odro, who replaced vibrant Christine Churcher as Member of Parliament for Cape Coast in the 2008 parliamentary election, stated emphatically that the state had a bad case. The Chronicle can report on authority that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice succeeded in getting the court to stay execution before the money was paid, in circumstances that still remain unexplained. In the words of Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, then Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the settlement that led to the huge loss to the state was 'a mistake.' According to His Lordship Mr. I.O. Tanko Amadu, sitting at the Commercial Division of the Accra High Court on Monday, September 6, 2010, he gave his consent to the stay of execution filed by the Attorney-General, who had filed for a stay of execution, as well as a fresh action by a writ in Suit No. OC42/20120 and amended on August 18, 2010, seeking three reliefs. According to the trial judge, Relief No. One contained in Suit No. OCC42/2010 sought 'a declaration that the terms of settlement filed in the Registry of this Honourable Court on 4 th June, 2010, to the effect that the Defendant be paid the sum of GH�51,283,480.59 in three equal installments of GH�17,094,495,53 was procured by mistake.' In her capacity as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Mould-Iddrisu, also sought for 'an order setting aside the said consent judgment filed in the Registry of this Honourable court on 4 th June, 2010, to the effect that the Defendant be paid the sum of GH�51,283,480.59 in three equal installments of GH�17,094,495.53, on the grounds that it was procured by mistake.' The A-G's office also asked the court to make 'any other declarations or consequential orders this Honourable Court may deem fit.' In the words of the trial judge: 'In pursuant of these reliefs in the fresh action, Defendant/Applicant has filed an application for stay of execution pending the determination of Suit No. OCC42/2010, and for an order for consolidation of Suit No.OCC42/2010 with the present suit, under the inherent jurisdiction of this honourable court.' The trial judge virtually took the Attorney-General to the classroom on why a suit, which had already been retired with a judgment, could not be combined with a fresh suit, before going ahead to grant the stay of execution. 'At this stage of the proceedings in the two suits,' ruled Mr. Tanko Amadu, 'there is only one fresh action pending. The earlier suit RPC152/2010 has rested in judgment, and it is for that reason Defendant/Applicant has commenced a fresh action. No consolidation of two suits is conceivable when judgment has been entered in one.' Mr. Tanko Amadu went ahead and granted the stay of execution on the premise that since the payment of the date for the first installment of GH�17,094,493.53 was long due, and that the amount ought to be paid to Mr. Woyome, pending the outcome of the suit filed by the Attorney-General. According to the judge, before making the order, the court got a commitment from Mr. Woyome that should the state be successful in its suit, he would refund the said GH�17,094,493.53. 'The application for the stay of execution pending the final determination of Suit No. OCC42/2010, is hereby granted in part and conditionally, as follows,' the judge stated. 'The Defendant/Applicant shall pay to Plaintiff/Respondent the sum of GH�17,094,493.53 with interest thereon, representing the first installment due and owing to the Plaintiff before the writ in Suit No. OCC42/2010 was issued, subject to the Plaintiff/Respondent filing an undertaking in the Registry of this court to return wholly the said sum and any interest thereon to the Defendant/Plaintiff, in the event that the trial court or other court of competent jurisdiction finds in favour of the Defendant/Applicant in Suit No. OCC42/2010.' The court then went ahead and granted the stay of execution, with Mr. Justice Tanko Amadu stating thus: 'Subject to paragraph (i) above, execution of the remainder of the judgment debt in Suit No. RPC152/2010 is hereby stayed, pending the final determination of Suit No.Occ42/2010, until further order.' What would interest most Ghanaians is when and under what circumstances was the whooping �420 billion of state money handed over to Mr. Woyome with this order still pending? *Tomorrow, The Chronicle will bring to readers details about how the then Ministry of Education and Sports communicated to VAMED Engineering Company of Austria, informing the company that it was unsuccessful in its bid to construct any stadium in respect of the staging of the 2008 African Cup of Nations.