Atta Akyea insists he will not appear in Adu-Boahen case during legal vacation

Lawyer for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahen, Samuel Atta Akyea, has maintained that he will not appear at the next sitting of the case despite the Chief Justice’s rejection of his request to be excused from proceedings during the legal vacation.

Mr Atta Akyea said his decision was based on his commitment to the longstanding convention of the legal profession, under which judges and lawyers traditionally observe the legal vacation except in circumstances requiring urgent hearings.

Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, August 11, he insisted that he would not abandon the principle simply because of one case, stressing that his position was neither motivated by personal convenience nor intended to frustrate the trial.

“I’m trained to uphold principle, not to be a convenience attorney,” he said.

His comments followed Tuesday’s proceedings in the trial of Mr Adu-Boahen and his wife, Angela Adjei-Boateng, who appeared in court without Mr Atta Akyea and other members of their defence team.

The presiding judge, Justice Francis Achibonga, subsequently directed that the accused persons could be required to continue the cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness if their lawyers failed to appear at the next sitting.

Justice Achibonga said he had taken note of the correspondence sent to the Chief Justice regarding the legal vacation but stressed that the letters did not constitute a stay of proceedings.

The judge, however, adjourned the case to August 17, 2026, to give the accused persons an opportunity to resolve the issue with their legal team.

He warned that should the accused appear at the next sitting without legal representation, they could be required to continue the cross-examination themselves. Failure to do so, he said, could result in the testimony of the prosecution witness being closed.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has rejected the position that lawyers can refuse to participate in proceedings simply because cases have been scheduled during the legal vacation.