AG wanted help to jail Ato Forson and have his seat declared vacant – Jakpa

The third accused in the ongoing ambulance trial, Richard Jakpa, has alleged that Attorney General Godfred Dame informed him that he was not the target of the prosecution.

The businessman, Mr Jakpa, accused of causing the state a €2.3 million loss, made this revelation during his cross-examination by Dr Forson’s legal team on Thursday, June 13.

He testified that the Attorney General explicitly stated that the primary target of the case was the first accused, Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.

Mr Jakpa stated that he decided to cooperate and share documents with the Attorney General after being assured that a no-case application would be submitted on his behalf to secure his discharge.

This assurance led Jakpa to believe that the Attorney General would assist him.

Mr Jakpa further claimed that the AG urged him to cooperate in having Dr Forson jailed by the first week of May since a bye-election cannot take place six months before a general election.

According to Jakpa, this conversation took place at the home of his cousin, Justice Yonni Kulendi, where the AG allegedly pressured him to provide incriminating evidence against Dr Forson.

Dr Ato Forson, a former Deputy Finance Minister, and Richard Jakpa, a businessman, are on trial for causing the state a €2.3 million loss in an ambulance deal.

The accused persons are to answer five counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, abetment to wilfully causing financial loss to the state, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, and intentionally misapplying public property.