The Lead Consultant for Robert Smith Law Group, Bobby Banson, has added his voice to calls for the separation of the Office of the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice.

He argued that this separation would promote peace by enabling independent investigation and prosecution of politically exposed persons.

His call is an echo of several calls made over the years following the reluctance of sitting governments to prosecute appointees for alleged malfeasance and outright criminal conduct.

On May 6, a petition seeking to remove Kissi Agyebeng as Special Prosecutor was forwarded by President Akufo-Addo to the Chief Justice.

The petition, dated April 30, 2024, was sent to the President by former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu.

Mr Amidu alleged procurement breaches in the purchase of vehicles for the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and abuse involving judges and the administration of justice.

Other allegations include violations of citizens’ rights through arrests and detentions, violations of the right to information, and improper appointments of personnel to the office.

In an interview on Joy News' AM Show on Friday, Banson explained that if the Chief Justice, at the end of her probe of the allegations find no merit in them, must make a public declaration of it.

He explained that the judiciary is as independent as it can be, but the problem sometimes lies with political actors who put their own spin and interpretation on issues to malign it.

“When there was that discourse between the Attorney General and the EOCO and the Office of Special Prosecutor, for me it lends credence to the argument that it is time we separate the Office of the Attorney General from the Ministry of Justice completely.

“Because that was a clear case of the person exercising that authority as the Attorney General saying something contrary to a supposedly independent institution that we have set up and resourced to carry out investigation of corruption and corruption-related offences against all persons including politically exposed persons,” he added.

“Now imagine that if the Attorney General's Office was also independent, at least they will have said go to court with the evidence presented to you by the OSP and then the court comes to a final conclusion. But here you have the Office of the Attorney General who is a political appointee, the Minister of Justice who is also a political appointee and the target of the investigation is also a political appointee.

“If we don’t separate those two offices it will be very difficult for us to get far with independent investigation and prosecution of politically exposed persons.”