Lawyer sues CJ over EC petition

Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has been sued by a private legal practitioner, Ayamga Yakubu Akolgo, seeking to stop her from proceeding with investigations into the petitioned brought to her against the Chair of the Electoral Commission (EC), Charlotte Osei.

Mr Akolgo believes that the prima facie investigations currently being conducted by the Chief Justice may be prejudicial to investigations being conducted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on the same matter.

He maintains the court is “duty bound to preemptively intervene to protect the independence of the Electoral Commission and to maintain the Commission as the foundation of our democracy, good governance and multiparty democracy”.

This comes days after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo referred a petition by some faceless staff of the election management body to the Chief Justice calling for the removal of Mrs Osei .

Some staff of the EC petitioned Mr Akufo-Addo to remove Mrs Osei from office over allegations of fraud and financial malfeasance.

Mrs Osei has counter-alleged corruption against his deputies insisting that she has done nothing wrong and only being hounded because she is fighting internal graft.

She has also sued the lawyer representing the anonymous petitioners, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, for defamation.