Former Tamale Central MP and lawyer, Inusah Fuseini, has argued that a U.S. immigration judge had no legal authority to make conclusive pronouncements on the criminal case involving former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in Ghana.

His comments follow a ruling by a U.S. immigration judge who, during immigration proceedings, found that documents filed before the court did not provide sufficient evidence from Ghana’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) linking Mr Ofori-Atta to criminal wrongdoing.

The finding paved the way for the approval of Mr Ofori-Atta’s application for lawful permanent residence, commonly known as a green card, in the United States.

However, speaking on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, July 25, Mr Fuseini maintained that the judge’s mandate was limited to determining whether the former minister qualified to adjust his immigration status after his permission to remain in the United States had expired.

According to him, Mr Ofori-Atta’s lawyers submitted affidavit evidence, including material from the OSP, solely to support the immigration application and not for the U.S. court to determine the merits of criminal allegations pending before Ghanaian courts.

“For a judge who is simply sitting down looking at whether or not someone qualifies to adjust his immigration status to make conclusive findings on criminal matters pending before Ghanaian courts is totally, totally out of jurisdiction,” he said.

Mr Fuseini argued that criminal jurisdiction is territorial, and the U.S. court had no authority over criminal proceedings taking place in Ghana.

He explained that countries only assume jurisdiction over criminal matters outside their territories through specific international agreements or treaties, citing the International Criminal Court (ICC) as an example where states have voluntarily accepted such jurisdiction.

“America clearly has no jurisdiction over the criminal trial that is happening in Ghana,” he stated, adding that the United States itself does not subscribe to the ICC framework.

He stressed that the immigration judge was only required to assess issues relevant to immigration status and not determine whether Mr Ofori-Atta had committed any criminal offence in Ghana.