Young, Inexperienced And Unethical Lawyers Referred To Interpol Red Notice As Fake – Amidu

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has questioned the credibility of some “young lawyers” after they doubted the authenticity of an Interpol Red Notice issued for the arrest of some four persons alleged to have played roles in the Airbus SE bribery scandal.

The OSP in a press release said some of these lawyers in their “twenties and early thirties” “have not even cut their teeth at the Ghana Bar” but went on the airwaves to assault the person on the Special Prosecutor (SP) Martin Amidu who the office describes as a member of the community of ethical lawyers and the senior judiciary.

The release added that the SP refused to be drawn into political banter with the said lawyers who have “very limited distinguished courtroom practice”.

“The SP also learnt later and read online that a bunch of young, inexperienced, and unethical lawyers were referring to the Red Notices as fake while at the same time heaping insults and attributing unwarranted motives to the person and character of the SP for doing his work as the Special Prosecutor to fight provable corruption,” the release said.

“The SP is well known in this country and amongst the community of ethical lawyers and the senior judiciary as a person who had practiced the law ethically for upwards of forty years. Some of the unethical lawyers who were assaulting the person and character of the SP on the air waves are lawyers who are in their twenties and early thirties: they have not even yet cut their teeth at the Ghana Bar. The SP refused to be drawn into the affray of turning law into politics as is the forte of those unethical and inexperienced lawyers with no or very limited distinguished court room practice vindicating their standing as lawyers in the Ghana Law Reports”.

Thorough investigation

Mr Amidu further assured that a thorough investigation into the Airbus SE bribery case had also unearthed “the suspected commission of other related crimes of impersonation as graduates of the University of Ghana, a civil servant, and forgeries in the application for the acquisition of a Ghanaian passport”.

Needless CID statement

The SP described as “needless”, a Police CID statement informing the Public that the Interpol Red Notice was issued at the behest of his Office.

“This Office as an independent and active agency took the view that the publication made on its behalf was unusual, extraordinary, needless, and gratuitous as every Interpol Red Notice states in its content the law enforcement agency at whose behest it is issued”.