I will push for deportation of ex-Gitmo detainees if… – Lawyer

Lawyer for the two Ghanaians challenging the decision by President John Mahama to accept the two suspected terrorists says he will be pushing for the deportation of the two ex-Guantanamo detainees if the court rules that the president’s action was illegal.

Nana Agyei Baffuor Awuah says the action is also to serve a useful purpose for the future and to determine how a future president can act if confronted with a similar challenge.

President John Mahama has been heavily criticized for agreeing to host two Yemeni suspected terrorists who were held in detention at the Guantanamo Bay by the US for 14 years.

He has also been criticised for allegedly breaching sections of the anti-terrorism act and putting the country in danger by accepting the two.

But the president and his spokespersons have dismissed the claim. President John Mahama at a recent meet the press encounter said his decision was a singular act of compassion towards two innocent people who were wrongfully arrested and detained for 14 years by the US.

He said he as commander in chief of the Ghana Armed Forces he will not do anything that will put the country in harm’s way.

But many Ghanaians are still in doubt and in fear. Two Ghanaians, Henry Nana Boakye of Kumasi and Margarat Banful of Accra have decided to challenge the president’s decision in court.

Their lawyer Baffuor Awuah told Joy News his clients want the Supreme Court to subject the action of the president to strict legal interpretation.

Even though he conceded that the president has powers to take some decisions in the interest of the country, he noted such powers must be exercised within the laws of the land.

“Even if he has power there is a procedure. What is the procedure by which the president undertook this decision?” he demanded.

He said the action by his clients are not targeted at the person of the current president.

Asked if the purpose of the suit is to call for the deportation of the two suspects, the lawyer said the suit is only to seek interpretation but if the court ruled that the president’s decision was ultra vires then they would have no choice but to ask for consequential orders that will press for the deportation of the two.