February 25, 2012 (Lead Story)
A former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, was on Friday, February 24, 2012 subjected to a three-hour interrogation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.
Her lawyer, Nana Ato Dadzie, told journalists after he and his client had emerged from the Conference Room at the CID Headquarters at 8 p.m. that she had been invited by officials of the CID.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu was driven off in a dark-coloured Mercedes Benz saloon car, with registration number GE 800 – 09, after she and her lawyer had granted a five-minute interview to journalists who had waited outside while she was being questioned.
According to Nana Dadzie, his client had not been charged for any offence.
He said Mrs Mould-Iddrisu had, at all material times, acted professionally in the discharge of her duties as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice.
“We believe and reaffirm our position that Betty acted professionally in the discharge of her duties. We vigorously put our case across during the interrogation and the police acted professionally,” he stated.
He maintained his client’s innocence and indicated that he had, in a letter dated February 6, 2012, indicated his client’s willingness to submit a voluntary statement to the police and explained that the police had responded and said they would invite his client at the appropriate time.
Nana Dadzie said the invitation had been extended to them yesterday and they obliged by reporting for questioning.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu, who laughed when journalists questioned her lawyer whether or not she had been charged for any offence, thanked the journalists for allowing her to state her side of the story.
She reiterated that she had acted professionally in the discharge of her duties and further stated that she had not committed any crime to warrant any accusations.
Her presence at the CID Headquarters did not attract any crowd.
Woyome and a former Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, Mr O. B. Amoah, had drawn huge crowds to the CID precincts when they were picked up by armed men on February 3 and February 19, 2012, respectively, for interrogation.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu was questioned on the circumstances under which the state had not contested Woyome when he filed a writ at the Fast Track High Court, resulting in the award of GH¢51.2 million in default judgement and the subsequent payment of the money to him under her watch.
She is the seventh person to be interrogated by the CID over what has been termed the Woyomegate scandal by the media.
Another person interrogated in connection with the payment of the GH¢51.2 million is Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, who is alleged to have cancelled procurement processes on the construction of new stadia for CAN 2008 during his tenure as Minister of Education.
He was questioned on February 21, 2012 and allowed to go home.
Mr Amoah, who has been charged with two counts of causing financial loss and corruption, is currently on a GH¢20 million bail with two sureties
Woyome, the man at the centre of the saga, has been charged with three counts of conspiracy, defrauding by false pretence and corruption of public officer and is billed to reappear before the Financial Division of the Fast Track High Court with the three others on March 5, 2012.
Those standing trial with him are a Chief State Attorney, Samuel Nerquaye-Tetteh; the Director of Legal Services at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP), Paul Asimenu, and Mrs Gifty Nerquaye-Tetteh, Nerquaye-Tetteh’s wife, into whose account Woyome allegedly paid GH¢400,000.
Nerquaye-Tetteh has been charged with two counts of conspiracy and corruption of public officer, while Asimenu and Gifty have been charged with a count each of abetment of crime.
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