Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has issued a stern warning of legal action against individuals involved in the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) initiative if his name or property is implicated in the committee’s findings.
The threat comes amid reports that a property owned by Afenyo-Markin since 2006 has been scrutinised under the operation. According to the lawmaker, drones were flown over his property, which shares a boundary with the Police Academy, in an effort to link it to state land.
Afenyo-Markin shared his frustrations, saying, “They thought it was a state land, and because I share a wall, there’s a common boundary between my property and the Police Academy, you know, so maybe they thought that it’s a Police Academy property that I had illegally acquired. And unfortunately for them, that was not it. In any case, must you fly a drone on my property?”
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Wednesday, February 19, Afenyo-Markin accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of using the ORAL initiative to target political opponents instead of focusing on governance. “You see, sometimes politicians think that by attacking an opponent, it breaks the opponent down, and they would be popular. NDC should know that they’ve won. They’ve won with a four-year mandate. They should be busy with the implementation of their manifesto promises rather than coming after Afenyo-Markin,” he stated.
When asked if he would be surprised if his name or property appeared in the ORAL report submitted to President John Mahama, the Effutu MP was clear in his stance. “I’ll sue them. I will sue them. If I see anything inconsistent with the law, I’ll sue them. I’ll sue their individual personalities. I’ll sue each one of them. I’ll sue for the law to remedy the situation.”
The ORAL team, which submitted its findings to President Mahama earlier this month, estimates that Ghana could reclaim over $21 billion in illegally acquired assets. In the coming days, Attorney General and Minister for Justice Dr. Dominic Ayine is expected to recommend the prosecution of individuals named in the report.
