The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, expects a fightback not only from former Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta on his extradition but also from United States of America (USA) authorities.
He announced on Thursday that already the former Finance Minister has hired top attorneys in the US to defend his case.
Dr Ayine, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East, was addressing the press when he made this known.
He had informed Ghanaians that an extradition request for Mr Ofori-Atta has been sent to the Department of Justice in the US.
However, he believes the American authorities will not just accede to his request just for the sake of it without thoroughly probing it
“Usually, the extradition proceedings take place in a court of competent jurisdiction, in our case, that is the district court, in the US it will also be the federal district court,” he schooled.
“Mind you, the person who is the subject matter of extradition will fight it in court. So, the American authorities won’t just take my request and say ‘Here you are, here is Ken Ofori-Atta’ and here is his other accomplice. Take them to face trial.
“It will have to go through court proceedings in the US and I just got to know that he has hired some of the top lawyers, experienced ones, in the United States of America to defend him.”
The AG said he is not fazed by this action by the former Finance Minister only that “there is going to be a fight in the federal courts in the US”.
He has promised to ensure that Mr Ofori-Atta is treated fairly in case he decides voluntarily to return home to face trial.