No notice of appeal by Sedina was served on A-G in 2024 - Godfred Dame

Godfred Yeboah Dame, the immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, has refuted claims that his office was aware of an appeal filed by Sedina Tamakloe Attionu in 2024. He stated that throughout the extradition proceedings, which began in July 2024 and concluded in April 2026, no mention of such an appeal was made, even in documents filed by Attionu in the U.S. District Court.

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In any event, even if an appeal was filed by Sedina Attionu in 2024, it is completely immaterial because she took no further step as the accused/appellant until the NDC came back to power. Thus, the Republic had to do nothing in 2024 in terms of the conduct of that appeal.

Dame explained that state attorneys informed the Court of Appeal in April 2026, through both oral and written submissions, that they had not been served with an appeal notice. They only became aware of the proceedings after the Court of Appeal directed the parties to file their written submissions.

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I have become aware of a false and devious narrative being churned out by communicators of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other agents and hirelings of the Government, in a bid to shift the blame for the acquittal of Madam Sedina Tamakloe Attionu onto the Akufo-Addo Government and principally my good self as the immediate past Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.

In a statement reacting to public commentary following the overturning of Attionu's conviction by the Court of Appeal, Dame addressed what he termed a "false and devious narrative" being promoted by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and government agents. He accused them of attempting to shift blame for Attionu's acquittal onto the Akufo-Addo government and himself.

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No notice of an appeal filed by Sedina Attionu in 2024 came to the attention of the Office of Attorney-General in my tenure. State attorneys in both oral and written submissions indicated this fact to the Court of Appeal in April 2026 - that they had not been served with a notice of the appeal and that, they became aware of the proceedings only after the Court of Appeal directed the Parties to file their written submissions.

Dame asserted that even if an appeal had been filed in 2024, it would be irrelevant because Attionu, as the accused/appellant, took no further action until the NDC regained power. Consequently, the Republic had no obligation to act on the appeal in 2024. He highlighted his own action in pursuing an extradition request to ensure Attionu served the sentence lawfully passed by the High Court of Ghana.

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What I, as the Attorney-General who had superintended a successful prosecution had to do, was to ensure that the convicted person, Sedina Attionu, was brought to Ghana to serve the sentence lawfully passed by the High Court of Ghana. I thus took the important step to pursue an extradition request.