Inarguably, many legal practitioners are doing their possible best to make the Ghanaian legal profession a very vibrant and priceless one.
Each time we talk about the law, the name of one legal personality runs through our mind.
Lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata needs to be given the necessary acknowledgement and recognition in this very discussion because he has, through his tireless commitment and efforts trained several lawyers and judges in the country.
His quality submissions and interpretations of the law remain a case study for upcoming legal enthusiasts and professionals.
Though his team lost the “Controversial 2020 Election Petition Case” in the Supreme Court of Ghana, students, legal experts, prospective legal professionals and the general public really learnt a lot from him.
Some were just glued to their Television Sets when he mounted the platform to lecture the judges on certain key aspects of the law, which may be considered by some as “alien” or “new”.
Many Ghanaians wonder why he did not chance on the processes required to become a judge. But according to, he would have regretted if he was a judge.
It is always imperative to lay down this foundation to understand that in the Ghanaian legal arena, there are good, bad and evil ones.
Lawyers who have received similar qualifications, and have been accorded as such by the Ghana Bar Association, or other international bar associations exhibit different behavioural attitudes and actions at any point in time.
However, one thing that remains very significant in the lives of lawyers is integrity. Once you continue to portray this key element in your practice as a lawyer, reputation will automatically chase you.
On two several occasions, serving as a lawyer for the Office of the Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame has suffered defeat in the hands of the “Fixthecountry campaigners in court.
We cannot also forget the attempt championed by his ministry to reverse the ruling by the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court regarding the case between Achimota School and the Rastafarians.
Prof. Stephen Asare who happens to be an instrumental member looking into that issue emphatically stated on TV that “they are not” so he was going to withdraw himself from the case.
In response to the $170 Million Judgement Debt directed by the Commercial Court London, United Kingdom, over the of the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC), Godfred Dame has disclosed that the blame should be shifted to Kwabena Donkor, who was one of the signatories of that contract, during the Mahama-led Administration.
While John Jinapor, the Ranking Member of Energy Committee of Parliament is blaming Boakye Kyeremanteng Agyarko (former Power Minister) for terminating the contract and causing financial loss to Ghana in the long-run, Dame is blaming someone’s else.
What is so strange about the Attorney General’s submission on this imperative issue is that he claimed to only involved in the arbitration (trial) proceedings of the case, when he was Deputy Attorney General of Ghana, but was not assigned to look deeply into the case when it started popping up in court.
He continues by saying that the debt is not even $170 Million but rather $134 Million.
If Dame is clearly debunking the assertion that the state’s mishandling of the case led to that gargantuan debt, then why didn’t the Office of the Attorney General under the leadership of Akufo-Addo prosecute Kwabena Donkor, he claimed to have triggered all these issues?
Clearly, he is trying to defend himself, and shift all the blame to people who are not even in any way close to the issue.
No wonder Frances Essiam has boldly declared that the state will use the Attorney General’s Ex-Gratia to settle the judgement debt.
This complements the intensity of corruption under the Akufo-Addo-led Administration.
Gradually, it appears Dame is disgracing the Ghanaian legal profession per some of the comments he has put across so far on this issue.
It totally reveals his incompetence in the law.
There is however one Attorney General (AG) and Supreme Court of Ghana Judge Godfred Dame needs to learn from.
Born on July 29, 1916 to Mr. William Hudson Odoi and Sarah Naa Oyoe Mills at James Town British Accra, Gold Coast (now Jamestown, Ghana), George Commey Mills-Odoi reigns as the First Ghanaian to be appointed into the Office of Attorney General.
Additionally, he was the First Ghanaian to hold the dual offices of Director of Public Prosecutions and Solicitor-General.
Due to his excellent expertise in the law, he was appointed to serve in various capacities in the legal and business environment. He served as Chairman of the Shai Paramount Chieftaincy Dispute in 1958, Director of The Ghana Commercial Bank as well as the Director of the Ghana Life Assurance Company.
In 1963, George was appointed by the Government of Sri-Lanka (then Ceylon) to do an extensive enquiry into all the issues that pertained to the killing of Prime Minister, S.W.R.D Bandaranaike.
Commey Mills-Odoi was the brain behind the drafting of the Master Agreement for the Volta River Authority (VRA) Project.
In the Sports arena, George Commey Mills-Odoi served as the Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Ghana Football Association from 1963 to 1965.
Prior to the overthrow of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1966, he was the Acting Chief Justice (CJ) of Ghana.
He subsequently served as a Judge Advocate General of Ghana Armed Forces (from 1966 to 1982), Chairman of the Committee of Enquiry into the Structure and Remuneration of the Public Services of Ghana, Chairman of the country’s Sports Council (1966 to 1968) and Chairman of the Income Commission (from 1967 to 1968).
Due to his excellent and selfless service to the nation, he was awarded The Companion of The Order of the Volta (Civil Division) in 1978.
In the late 1970s, specifically, 1979, Mills-Odoi was appointed as the Chairman of The Board of Directors at the Tema Oil Refinery (then Ghana Italy Petroleum Company.
The Ghanaian Hero and Living Legend died in Accra, Ghana on August 4, 1988 at the age of 72.
He was married to Rebecca Mills-Odoi, and together, they had 10 children.
George Commey Mills-Odoi was proudly an old student of Accra Academy.
Source: operanewsapp