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A former Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, has said that the current court action and cross-examination of Alfred Woyome will not guarantee the retrieval of the questionable GHS51.2 million judgment debt paid to the businessman by the previous administration.

“I wish them good luck because from where I sat and what I know I can only wish them good luck. …You and I will probably come to talk about this in four years’ time or when the matters are concluded and I can tell you that what they are doing now will not get us GHc51million,” Dr Ayine told Moro Awudu on Class FM’s Executive Breakfast Show on Tuesday July 25.

Several civil society organisations and members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) criticised the past NDC administration for their failure to retrieve the monies but the lawyer insists they “took all the steps under civil procedure rules…and lawyers who should know better were saying that we were not committed to collecting the money”.

“How else were they expecting us to collect the money? Use a hammer to hit the man’s head to break his head and tell him to bring the money? That is not allowed by the constitution,” he commented.

At the last hearing of the Woyome case on Monday, July 24, officials of the Lands Commission in Ghana were invited by the Supreme Court to testify in the cross-examination of the businessman.

The invitation to the Commission was necessitated by a disagreement between Mr Woyome and Deputy Attorney General Godfred Dame over the ownership of a building located at Abelemkpe.

Mr Woyome had denied in court that he owned the building, saying the property belonged to his brother. The only building he claimed belonged to him is one located in Kokomlemle, a suburb of Accra.

However, the Deputy AG, according to Accra News’ Ama Brako Ampofo, told the court he had in his possession documents indicating that the property at Abelemkpe also belonged to Mr Woyome.

Following this disagreement, the apex court invited the Lands Commission to produce documents covering the property at the next hearing.

The case was adjourned to October 2.

Commenting on the latest development, Dr Ayine said: “Now what they are doing is just courtroom drama.

“I’m telling you that we used Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO). They should get to EOCO and get a report on Woyome. We did all the investigation necessary to ascertain these companies that they are talking of. We have all the documents there at the AG’s Department.

“EOCO did a comprehensive report on his assets for us to seize them and sell to recover the money for the republic, so what else did they want us to do? Except kill the man for people to be happy that we have dealt with Woyome very well.”