Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo, last Friday, asked the Fast Tract Court, where five former government officials are standing trial for causing financial loss to the state, for time to be given him to have a respite.

This was when he took over the mantle from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Osafo Sampong, in the quest to address the court over the issue of the charge on “conspiracy” brought against the accused persons which the judge, during the last sitting, demanded for further explanation. “My lord could you give me some time to rest, because I am sweating?” Akufo Addo requested the court presided over by Justice Kwame Afreh, a Supreme Court judge, sitting as an additional High court judge, less than an hour into the middle of his submission.

The accused persons include Ibrahim Adam, former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Samuel Dapaah, former Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance. The rest are Dr George Sipa-Adjah Yankey, former Legal Director of the Ministry of Finance and Nana Ato Dadzie, former Chief of Staff at the Presidency. They were alleged to have played various roles in the Quality Grain Company scandal that led to the loss of more than $20million to the state. The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing financial loss to the state and they are on self-recognisance bail.

When the court resumed sitting after it was suspended for some few minutes, the Attorney General found himself struggling with the judge in explaining the circumstances under which the accused persons conspired to commit the alleged crime. According to Akufo Addo, the accused persons acted together to make available financial support and have the state-guaranteed facilities for the Aveyime rice project.

Earlier on, the Attorney general submitted before the court that the decision arrived at in the case of Mallam Issa, is binding on it since “the concept of willful embraces the concept of recklessness”. He told the court that public officials as a result of their office, are burdened to take absolute care of public properties, adding that the accused persons deliberately refused to follow certain procedures that ought to be followed and thus, were in violation of the law.