Prosecution Closes Abuga Pele Case

After about a year of proceedings, the prosecution has finally closed its case in the trial of Abuga Pele, former National Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) - now Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA).

It is now left with Abuga Pele, who doubles as NDC MP for Chiana Paga in the Upper East Region and his co-accused, Philip Akpeena Assibit, CEO of Goodwill International Group (GIG), to open their defence.

However, both defence counsels indicated their intentions to file a submission of no case immediately Mrs Evelyn Keelson, a chief state attorney, had announced at the Accra Financial Court yesterday that the prosecution had concluded its case.

Raymond Bagnabu, representing Assibit, told Justice Afia Serwah Asare Botwe trying the case, that 'We are desirous of putting in a 'submission of no case' for Mr. Assibit.'

Karl Adongo, counsel for Abuga Pele, also added, 'It is the same with us. We believe no case has been established by the prosecution so far.'

The court then set the timelines for both teams to file the necessary processes by May 15 for the defence and June 5 for the prosecution before adjourning the case until June 19 for ruling.

Prosecution's Witnesses
The prosecution was able to call a total of seven witnesses, including Mrs Diana Adu Anane, an investigator at the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), who was the last witness to be cross-examined.

Nuru Hamidan, former NYEP Deputy National Coordinator in-charge of Operations and now MCE for Asokore Mampong; Gladys Ghartey, current Head of United Nations Systems at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; Mohammed Pelpuo, Head of the Business Development Unit at NYEP as well as Clement Kofi Humado, former Minister of Youth and Sports, whom the defence team insisted should have also been on trial, have since testified and been cross-examined.

Dr. Shaibu Ahmed Gariba, who until September 2014 was the Director-General of Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) and Eric Sunu, an accountant attached to the GYEEDA, have also testified and been cross-examined.

Accused Persons
Abuga Pele and Philip Akpeena Assibit are standing trial for the various roles they played, which the Attorney General's Department said caused huge financial loss to the state.

The MP is accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state to the tune of GH'3,330,568.53 while Assibit is being tried for defrauding the state of an amount equivalent to $1,948,626.68.

The two have pleaded not guilty. They were present in court yesterday.

Concluding Case
Mrs Adu Anane, before exiting the witness' box, told the court under cross-examination by Mr. Adongo that the GYEEDA investigations were ongoing but the aspect involving the NDC MP and Assibit was completed.

She said Mr. Humado approved the payment based on the justification memo sent by Abuga Pele after the demand letter by Assibit's GIG.

She admitted that Abuga Pele did not have the responsibility to approve payment beyond GH'20,000 and said that responsibility rested on the sector ministry and the directors but insisted that 'the minister approved the payment based on the justification by Abuga Pele.'

By William Yaw Owusu