Lead counsel for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Samuel Atta Akyea, has rejected claims that the defence is using the judiciary’s legal vacation to delay the ongoing trial.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Top Story on Tuesday, Mr Atta Akyea said the defence has consistently attended court and has no intention of frustrating the proceedings.

His comments follow remarks by Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, who accused the defence of using tactics, including the legal vacation, to slow down the trial.

"I haven't done anything like that. I've faithfully attended court from the beginning to now.

“I have to tell you this. I don't have a trick. The only thing I have is that I pay obeisance to the rule of law and I want people to have justice.

“That I won't compromise because of anybody's ambulance thinking of expedited trials. So we are not trying to delay this case at all. We've been cross-examining.

“We've been coming to court faithfully. I'm there early. When it's even late, I wait for him.

“You understand? Because he's oversubscribed. So please, nobody is saying that we are running away from what we do best. No.

“But for Christ's sake, this realm is to uphold the rule of law. We shouldn't give any indication that we are practicing a two-track system where one is expedited, the other is not. One is an ambulance, the other is normal track.”

Background

The case involves Mr Adu-Boahene, his wife Angela Adjei Boateng, Mildred Donkor and Advantage Solutions Limited, who are facing 11 charges including conspiracy, stealing, using public office for profit, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state. They have all pleaded not guilty and are on bail.

The defence has previously clashed with the prosecution over the pace of the trial.

In July 2025, the High Court dismissed a defence application seeking further disclosure of National Security operational account records dating back to 1992. The defence argued that the records could contain information capable of supporting the accused persons’ case.

Following the ruling, Mr Atta Akyea sought time to study the court's decision and consider an appeal or an application for a stay of proceedings. Dr Srem-Sai opposed the request and pushed for the trial to proceed without delay.

Mr Atta Akyea at the time accused the prosecution of withholding documents and declared: “I won’t accept any ambulance trial.”

That earlier disagreement over an expedited trial has now resurfaced amid the latest accusations of delay.

Mr Atta Akyea, however, insists that his approach is based on protecting due process and ensuring that his client receives a fair trial.

He maintained that the justice system should not operate a separate, accelerated track for selected cases while others proceed under the ordinary rules.

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