Audio By Carbonatix
Lawyer for the two Ghanaians challenging the decision by President John Mahama to accept the two suspected terrorists says he will be pushing for the deportation of the two ex-Guantanamo detainees if the court rules that the president's action was illegal.
Nana Agyei Baffuor Awuah says the action is also to serve a useful purpose for the future and to determine how a future president can act if confronted with a similar challenge.
President John Mahama has been heavily criticized for agreeing to host two Yemeni suspected terrorists who were held in detention at the Guantanamo Bay by the US for 14 years.
He has also been criticised for allegedly breaching sections of the anti-terrorism act and putting the country in danger by accepting the two.
But the president and his spokespersons have dismissed the claim. President John Mahama at a recent meet the press encounter said his decision was a singular act of compassion towards two innocent people who were wrongfully arrested and detained for 14 years by the US.
He said he as commander in chief of the Ghana Armed Forces he will not do anything that will put the country in harm's way.
But many Ghanaians are still in doubt and in fear. Two Ghanaians, Henry Nana Boakye of Kumasi and Margarat Banful of Accra have decided to challenge the president's decision in court.
Their lawyer Baffuor Awuah told Joy News his clients want the Supreme Court to subject the action of the president to strict legal interpretation.
Even though he conceded that the president has powers to take some decisions in the interest of the country, he noted such powers must be exercised within the laws of the land.
"Even if he has power there is a procedure. What is the procedure by which the president undertook this decision?" he demanded.
He said the action by his clients are not targeted at the person of the current president.
Asked if the purpose of the suit is to call for the deportation of the two suspects, the lawyer said the suit is only to seek interpretation but if the court ruled that the president's decision was ultra vires then they would have no choice but to ask for consequential orders that will press for the deportation of the two.
Latest Stories
-
KNUST Nkabom Collaborative opens pitch session to support young agripreneurs with business funding
55 minutes -
Former Foreign Affairs minister and Ex-ECOWAS Commission President James Victor Gbeho dies at 91
2 hours -
Illegal dumpsite washed into Weija Lake after floods, raising public health fears
2 hours -
NACOC partners GJA to combat substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in Ghana
2 hours -
Football’s greatest legends prepare for their final World Cup
2 hours -
Sammi Awuku questions whether GTA board chair Gertrude Donkor meets Tourism Act private sector requirement
2 hours -
Providence turns red, gold and green as Tribe Culturefest ignites Ghana’s World Cup fever
2 hours -
Asantehene to attend tribe Culturefest’s fan festival at Toronto’s Sankofa Square
2 hours -
Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo resigns from the Council of State
3 hours -
Health workers struggle to contain Ebola in Congo camps as distrust grows
4 hours -
Richie Mensah unveils ‘The Octave’ as latest addition to Lynx Electronics family
4 hours -
Motorists, pedestrians alarmed over faulty streetlights on Achimota Forest stretch
4 hours -
Bank of Ghana orders financial institutions to stop supporting foreign currency crypto wallets
4 hours -
Former Upper West Minister Backs Dr Issahaku Moomin for NPP Treasurer Position
6 hours -
Legal Education Reform: Assafuah questions possible return of entrance exams under new bar training system
6 hours