Nii Ayikoi Otoo, Lawyer for former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, says the decision of the ECOWAS Court of Justice to dismiss her application for interim measures came as no surprise to her legal team.
His comments follow Wednesday’s ruling in which the ECOWAS Court declined Justice Torkornoo’s request for temporary orders to halt the work of the committee that investigated her removal from office.
The Court held that though she had established a prima facie human rights claim, she failed to demonstrate urgency because she waited three months after her suspension to file the motion.
The Court also rejected the Government of Ghana’s preliminary objection that the matter was sub judice, ruling that the issues before the regional court concern alleged human rights violations and do not seek to overturn decisions of Ghanaian courts.
The ECOWAS Court has since directed the Attorney General to file a response as preparations begin for the hearing of the main case.
Speaking on the ruling on Citi Eyewitness News , he explained that the team had already anticipated the outcome because their lawyers in Nigeria had formally notified the Court that the Government of Ghana continued to take actions affecting the case despite the pending proceedings before the regional court.
According to him, the government’s conduct made it clear that temporary orders would not stop ongoing developments in Ghana, and therefore the Court’s focus shifted to fixing a date to hear the substantive human rights case.
“For us, it is no news at all,” Otoo said. “Our Nigerian lawyers had written to the Court, informing them that the government of Ghana was not respecting the matters before the Court and was going ahead with actions that could prejudice the hearing.
“So the conclusion was that the Court should forget about the interim measure and instead give a date for the substantive matter to be heard.”
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