Dr. Stephen Opuni
The
computer hard drive being used in the courtroom to record proceedings in the
trial of former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD),
Dr. Stephen Opuni, and businessman, Seidu Agongo, has gone missing, DAILY
GUIDE has gathered.
According
to sources, the hard drive was taken away during the legal vacation of the
Judicial Service when the courts were not sitting.
It
is unclear who carried out the act and the motive behind the stealing of the
hard drive which contains everything that has transpired in the trial which
started in March last year.
It is also not known yet if there is a backup of the
proceedings on any external hard drives or if the proceedings were captured on
the Electronic Justice System —
the e-Justice system introduced by the Judicial Service.
Apart from the hard drive of the computer in
‘Criminal Court 1’ where Dr. Opuni’s trial is taking place, hard drives in some
three other courts —
all
lands courts —
were also reportedly stolen.
Serious Problem
When the case — which was put on hold for two months as
a result of the legal vacation —
was called yesterday, the Presiding Judge, Justice Clemence Honyenuga, informed
the prosecution and the defence lawyers that there was a “technical problem, a
serious technical problem as such, for which reason the computer screens cannot
display.”
But
DAILY
GUIDE after the court proceedings gathered that the “serious technical
problem” the judge was referring to could be the missing hard drives.
Arrests
Unconfirmed
reports state that some staff members of the Judicial Service have been picked
up by operatives of the National Security in connection with the missing hard
drives.
According
to sources, among the persons arrested for interrogation include persons who
work in the affected courts, as well as some staff from the Information
Technology (IT) department of the Judicial Service.
Information
available indicates that the arrested staff members were questioned and their
mobile phones have been seized for further investigations.
Repeat Application
Meanwhile,
the trial of Dr. Opuni and businessman Seidu Agongo has been adjourned to
November 13, 2019.
This
follows application for stay of proceedings filed by Samuel Cudjoe, lawyer for Dr.
Opuni, at the Court of Appeal.
The
application emanated from the ruling of the judge who rejected attempts by Dr.
Opuni’s lawyer to tender a letter signed by one Dr. Opoku-Ameyaw through the
state’s witnesses.
That
was the second time this year that the accused has filed applications at the
High Court hearing the case and another at the Court of Appeal seeking to stay
the proceedings.
According
to Justice Honyenuga of the Court of Appeal, sitting as an additional High
Court judge, staying of proceedings would further delay the trial, as the third
prosecution witness has been in the box for months.
It
was the ruling of the trial judge that Dr. Opuni’s lawyer could not provide a
single reason for which the application for stay of proceedings should be granted.
Not
satisfied with the decision, the lawyer has filed another application for stay of
proceedings at the Court of Appeal pending the determination of an appeal
against the decision.
It
would be recalled that a similar application was dismissed by the Court of
Appeal because it failed to raise any exceptional circumstance for the trial to
be stayed.
Trial
Dr.
Opuni and Seidu Agongo, Managing Director of Agricult Ghana Limited, are before
an Accra High Court for causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH¢217,370,289.22.
The
two are facing a total of 27 charges, including defrauding by false pretence,
willfully causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, corruption by
a public officer and contravention of the Public Procurement Act.
The
two are in court over the purchase and supply of Lithovit fertilizer which the
state said was done in contravention of several laws.
The prosecution led by Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora-Obuobisa, has called three witnesses so far and the third witness, a former Deputy CEO of COCOBOD, Dr. Yaw Adu-Ampomah, who entered the witness box in May this year is still under cross-examination.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak
