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Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Legal Team, Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo, has said the ongoing debate over the possible extradition of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta from the United States is premature, explaining that the legal requirements for such a process have not yet been met. Speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV with Selorm Adonoo on Saturday, October 25, 2025, Mr Samoa Addo said the extradition process is a structured legal procedure that demands a complete docket backed by evidence before the U.S. authorities can consider a request. “I guess it is much ado about nothing because the processes and the legal basis for extradition is clear. When it comes to the U.S. and the procedure by which they deal with their extradition mandate, you need to have charged the person, you need to provide evidence. Because they have rules against political persecution that are tainted by other things other than a purely criminal matter that you might have been charged with which therefore you must appear in court. And so you need to be careful in the evidence and the procedure by which you present the evidence so that nothing taints the application that you bring before the U.S. court because if you miss it, that is it, you won’t get the shot again,” he explained. He clarified that while the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has issued a Red Alert notice declaring Mr Ofori-Atta a wanted person, the process is distinct from extradition, as the latter requires a completed investigation and a formal docket to be presented to the Attorney-General (AG). “The OSP initiated a red alert application, which means that you have declared a wanted person. That is about restricting your ability to move from one jurisdiction to the other freely. The presumption is that the building of the docket which by way of investigations would have been going on simultaneously. But then if you look at the statement of the OSP, they say that they came across additional information from SML investigations which require them to study and to put in a form that makes it easy to present in the docket. So simply put, the docket is not ready and the AG has no role when it comes to this matter until it is presented with a docket,” he stated. He added that the Attorney-General has already requested an interim docket from the OSP to assess progress on the case, but the Special Prosecutor has asked for more time to conclude investigations before submitting the full brief. “The AG wrote in his letter which we’ve all seen, ‘give me even an interim docket, let me see the state in which the docket is.’ OSP says I’m not ready to present you that details, give me a few more weeks and I will present it to you. And they were clear in their statement that they need a little more time to conclude their investigations and present a docket,” Mr Samoa Addo explained. He maintained that the matter remains one of significant public interest and should be handled with diligence and precision to ensure justice is served. “So whatever it is, I think all parties realize the fact that this is a matter of public interest. A huge chunk of accusations have been made against the person of Mr Ken Ofori-Atta with all manner of allegations. The investigations must be done right. If OSP feels that it is not ready, it is not ready,” he said. Mr Samoa Addo maintained that Mr Ofori-Atta’s return to Ghana could only be compelled through a formal extradition backed by clear evidence, which is not yet the case. “Right now when it comes to Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, he needs to be in the jurisdiction. The only way you can get him into the jurisdiction is of course to have evidence. As it is, yes you’ve declared him a wanted person, but you haven’t filed any extradition process backed with evidence that requires him to be in the jurisdiction,” he stressed. His remarks come amid renewed public attention over the stalled legal proceedings between the former Finance Minister and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). On Thursday, October 23, the Human Rights Division of the High Court adjourned the case to November 25, 2025, after hearing two motions filed by Mr Ofori-Atta’s lawyers — one seeking discoveries and another requesting leave to amend an originating motion on notice. Both applications were opposed by the OSP’s legal representatives. Attorney-General Dr Dominic Ayine has clarified that Ghana cannot formally initiate an extradition request for Mr Ofori-Atta from the United States until a solid legal case is built, consistent with U.S. extradition laws that require a detailed docket and formal charges before such a request can be considered. In January 2025, the OSP named Mr Ofori-Atta as a suspect in multiple corruption-related probes, including alleged irregularities in contracts with Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML), expenditures on the National Cathedral project, and issues involving health and tax refund operations. Yet, nearly ten months after being declared a “fugitive from justice” in February, the former Minister has neither been apprehended in the United States nor voluntarily returned to Ghana to face trial.
