Anti-corruption campaigner Vitus Azeem has sharply criticized the Attorney General’s decision to discontinue the Unibank trial involving Dr. Kwabena Duffuor and others, stating it undermines Ghana’s fight against corruption.
Speaking to ABC News in the morning, Mr. Azeem said the filing of a nolle prosequi in such a high-stakes case sends the wrong signal about the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability in the financial sector.
He warned that “such decisions risk reversing the gains made in anti-corruption efforts and could embolden wrongdoing if left unchecked.”
Mr. Azeem stressed that while recovering funds from failed banks is important, the punitive and deterrent aspect of justice must not be overlooked.
“It may be important to recover the money, but we need to also consider the punitive and deterrent part of it,” he noted.
The withdrawal of charges, he explained, essentially weakens institutional efforts to hold powerful individuals accountable and raises questions about political interference in the justice system.
The backlash comes on the heels of similar criticism from other public figures, including former MP Dr. Dickson Adomako Kissi, who also condemned the move as a “disgrace to justice.”
With mounting concerns from civil society, Mr. Azeem’s remarks add to growing unease about how justice is administered in cases involving politically connected individuals, especially in a sector as sensitive as banking and finance.
