Political commentator Nana Bonsu has appealed to the government not to simply hand over Frederick Kumi, also known as Abu Trica, to the United States on a silver platter without receiving a significant reciprocal benefit.
He proposed that if America expects the extradition of Abu Trica, they should be equally prepared to hand over former minister of finance Ken Ofori-Atta to the Ghanaian authorities.
Abu Trica currently faces charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
His defence team, led by Oliver Barker-Vormawor, filed a preliminary objection challenging the legal basis of the extradition proceedings.
They argued that the offences cited are not covered under the 1931 extradition treaty between Ghana and the United States, contending that wire fraud and money laundering are not explicitly listed as extraditable offences in the colonial-era agreement.
Despite these objections, the Gbese District Court granted the request to surrender Kumi to US authorities following his indictment for an alleged role in a large-scale online romance scam estimated to involve over $8 million.
Following the ruling on 27 March, he and his legal team were granted 15 days to challenge the decision.
Commenting on the matter, Nana Bonsu maintained that it is illogical to extradite Abu Trica without a reciprocal gesture from the United States. He expressed his views as follows:
Speaking on Frontlineon Rainbow Radio 87.5FM, he said “I want to urge President John Dramani Mahama and his attorney-general to rethink the decision to extradite Abu Trica to the United States to face prosecution. We have had Ghanaians who were accused of stealing from us and seeking asylum in countries like Germany and America. These individuals have not been released to us. Abu Trica is our son and our citizen. We cannot just hand him over to America. Let us even say he is guilty of the said allegations; we cannot just get up and hand him over to them when Ken Ofori-Atta has also refused to return home.
I am basing my remarks on remarks made by the attorney general some time ago. He had claimed that Ken Ofori-Atta had engaged in alleged acts of criminality against the state, and so we want him back to face prosecution. They have refused to hand him over, and yet we are in a rush to hand over Abu Trica. I don’t support this. We should only consider this approach if Ken Ofori-Atta is handed over to us.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana