Former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has forcefully rejected claims that his office ignored an appeal filed by former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu before she was acquitted by the Court of Appeal.
Describing allegations by communicators of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) as “false and devious,” Mr Dame insisted that no notice of appeal filed by Ms Tamakloe-Attionu in 2024 was ever served on or brought to the attention of the Attorney-General’s Department during his tenure.
“No notice of an appeal filed by Sedina Attionu in 2024 came to the attention of the Office of the Attorney-General in my tenure,” he said in a statement issued on Friday, July 31.
According to Mr Dame, State Attorneys informed the Court of Appeal in both oral and written submissions in April 2026 that they only became aware of the appeal after the court directed both parties to file written submissions.
He argued that even if the appeal had been lodged in 2024, it remained dormant until after the NDC assumed office, making it impossible for his administration to have taken any action on it.
“The Republic had to do nothing in 2024 in terms of the conduct of that appeal,” he stated.
Mr Dame said his priority as Attorney-General was instead to secure Ms Tamakloe-Attionu’s extradition from the United States to serve the 10-year prison sentence imposed on her by the Accra High Court.
He disclosed that his office successfully pursued extradition proceedings, culminating in a ruling by the United States District Court of Nevada on April 9, 2026, which upheld Ghana’s request and committed Ms Tamakloe-Attionu to custody pending a final decision by the US Secretary of State.
According to him, at no point during the extradition proceedings—from July 2024 to April 2026—did Ms Tamakloe-Attionu or her legal team mention any pending appeal in Ghana.
Mr Dame further revealed that her lawyers only obtained leave from the Court of Appeal on February 10, 2026, to file written submissions, which they did two days later, after he had left office.
He said State Attorneys were taken by surprise when they were served with the appellant’s submissions on February 16 because they had never received any prior notice that an appeal existed.
The prosecution subsequently sought leave to file its own submissions in opposition to the appeal on April 9, 2026, while raising concerns over what it described as an incomplete record of appeal that omitted key trial exhibits.
Mr Dame’s response comes amid renewed controversy following the Attorney-General’s decision to seek a stay of execution at the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal unanimously quashed Ms Tamakloe-Attionu’s conviction.
The Attorney-General has argued that without a stay, the former MASLOC Chief Executive could leave Ghana before the Supreme Court determines the State’s appeal.
Ms Tamakloe-Attionu was convicted in absentia by the Accra High Court on April 16, 2024, and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for causing financial loss to the state, stealing and money laundering. However, the Court of Appeal later acquitted and discharged her on all charges, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
