Drama in Court: Mallam Disagrees With His Lawyer

There was drama in the fast track high court trying the former Minister for Youth and Sports, Mallam Yusif Issa, when Alhaji Nuhu Billa, counsel for the ex-Minister, disagreed with his client over one of the two charges preferred against the dismissed minister.

Mallam Issa, who is charged on two counts of stealing and fraudulently causing financial loss to the state, told the High Court that he was not guilty of both charges. But his counsel, however, disagreed with him and told the court that his client is guilty of the second charge.

The cracks in the defence team began minutes after the Principal State Attorney, Mr. Anthony Gyambiby, had presented the facts of the case to the presiding judge, Justice Julius Ansah, an Appeal Court judge sitting as an additional High Court judge.

Responding to the statement of facts, Alhaji Nuhu Billa pointed out that his client was responsible for the loss of the money and that they were making efforts to pay back the money to the state.

"It's a loss, we accept it," Nuhu Billa told the fast -track court in total disagreement with his client.

On the first count of stealing, counsel for the accused said that his client's plea of not guilty "may be true or not." He argued, "How can money be given to somebody and later describe it as stolen money?" However, Mr. Gyambiby, prosecuting, told the court that if the defence team accepted responsibility of the second charge, then legally they had to appropriately amend the charge sheet to reflect the accurate response of the accused.

Alhaji Nuhu Billa told the court that if the prosecution failed to bring the Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, to the court, the defence team would have him hauled before it, because they believe that the ex-minister briefed the Vice- President of the incident after he arrived from Sudan.

The presiding judge told the defence counsel that the fact that he had accepted that his client had lost the money was untenable, because if he (counsel) had studied the charge sheet he would have realised that the charge stated is "fraudulently losing money belonging to the state'.

Alhaji Nuhu Billa then rescinded his decision and agreed with his client that they were not guilty of the two charges.

The accused was granted ?500 million bail and ordered to deposit a title deed of a landed property with the court and report every other day at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Police Headquarters, that is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays till the final disposal of the case, or when the condition is reviewed.

Earlier on, the court had refused Alhaji Nuhu Billa"s application to adjourn the case for two weeks, instead of the next Monday as ordered by the court.

Mr. Gyambiby had told the court that the prosecution would lead evidence to show that the accused dishonestly misappropriated the $46,000. He said that the prosecution would also establish that the accused did not go to Sudan with the cash.

Mr. Anthony Gyambiby, said that on March 14, this year "The Dispatch" published on its front page the loss of $46,000 which was given to the accused for the senior national team and officials as their winning bonus and imprest during the recent FIFA World Cup qualifying football match in Sudan on February 25.

He said following the publication, the police administration set up a committee of enquiry to investigate the circumstances leading to the loss of the money.

Mr. Gyambiby said investigations by the committee disclosed that on February 21, Mr. Owusu Ansah, the acting chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr. Daniel Piime, the acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr. La Danso, a member of GFA and Mr. Wolarnyo Agrah, the GFA General Secretary, met the ex-minister in his office to discuss the trip of the Black Stars to Sudan.

He said although the money for the payment of the winning bonus, per diem and imprest for the players and the officials was not ready, it was decided that the players and some officials should leave for Sudan on the night of February 21, to enable them familiarize themselves with the weather there.

It was, therefore, agreed that the ex-minister would take along the money when it was released.

According to the Principal State Attorney, the release of the money was processed on February 23 and the money was given to the ex-minister by the Principal Accountant. Mr. James Tigah, in three parcels namely: $46,000, for winning bonus and imprest for the players and officials, $8,686 per diem for the players and officials and $1,042 per diem for the ex-minister.

Mr. Gyambiby said the ex-minister claimed he put the $46,000 and some items, including an Audit Report, in his green suitcase which he used for the trip and kept the remaining money in his "pilot' briefcase, which he carried with him.

He said investigations, however, revealed that before the ex-minister left Accra for Sudan on February 23, he had removed the $46,000 from the green suitcase and put it in his flat black "security bag," which he usually carried to office.

Investigations, he said, also disclosed that the accused person did not use the flat black security bag in which he put the $46,000 for the trip.

Mr. Gyambiby said the green suitcase was eventually retrieved after it was discovered in Frankfurt and redirected through London to Khartoum on the day of their departure from Sudan on February 28.

He said the accused claims when he opened the suitcase the $46,000 and some items including the Audit Report were missing from it and he subsequently informed Kojo Bonsu about it, as well as other officials.

According to the accused, when he arrived in Ghana on February 28, he briefed his friend Babangida about the missing money and the latter advised him to inform the Vice-President about it, which he did.

Mr. Gyambiby said investigation, however, showed that the accused did not inform the Vice-President about the missing money as he claimed on a local FM station and read the publication in the March 14, 2001 edition of "The Dispatch."