Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, has urged the public to exercise restraint with the government over the prosecution of cases uncovered by the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) team.

His comment follows remarks by the Board Chairman of EOCO, Daniel Domelevo, who had criticised the delay in prosecuting those implicated in the ORAL investigations, describing nine months as too long for action to be taken.

Mr Kotoko argued that there is no need to mount pressure on the government, as it is taking the necessary time to ensure that due process is followed.

"A little bit of patience will work because it is not only ORAL he has on his desk. There are a lot of galamsey matters on his desk," he said.

According to him, the government’s cautious approach is intended to make the prosecutions solid and resistant to any attempts to overturn them in the future.

"The government has been meticulous to make sure that due process is followed, and then you get water-tight evidence so that when prosecution begins, it can't be that one will be able to come and say I am punching holes here and there. We understand the judicial processes that no matter how tight you have even prepared your dockets, somebody may also have some defence somewhere," he argued on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, October 11.

He emphasised that once the legal proceedings begin, they will be grounded on firm evidence and proper procedure, ensuring that justice is both fair and irreversible.