Ghana Card Court saga: A-G is mandated to defend NIA in court – Oppong Nkrumah

Ghana’s Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has backed the Attorney General’s decsion to defend the National Identification Authority in court (NIA).

In his view, the Attorney General is lawfully mandated to defend any state agency that is sued.

“By our law, when you sue the Republic or an agency of the Republic, you are procedurally required to attach or lead with the Attorney General. The Attorney General’s representation is only a procedural representation and not a substantive representation,” the Information Minister said in an interview on Accra based Citi FM earlier today.

His comments follow a law suit, filed against the NIA by two citizens; Kevow Mark-Oliver and Emmanuel Akumatey Okrah over the Authority’s decision to continue with the Ghana Card registration exercise in the Eastern Region.

The two prayed the courts to injunct the NIA’s Ghana Card registration exercuse and succeeded in securing an interlocutory injunction preventing the NIA from going ahead with the exercise. They argued that the exercise was in violation of the President’s directive of suspending all public gatherings, as part of measures to fight the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

Presently, the virus has affected 136 people in Ghana, killing 4 in the process.

In its defence, the Attorney General prayed the court to allow the NIA to continue its registration exercise, arguing it did not violate the Presidents directives on. The Attorney General argued that the President’s directive does not include the NIA.

Meanwhile, the High Court in Accra has dismissed an injunction application seeking to stop the NIA from continuing with the registration exercise in the Eastern Region.

In it’s decision, the court said the NIA’s decision to go ahead with the registration does not violate the President’s directive suspending all public gatherings.