Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie has dismissed a request by lawyers for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General Kwabena Adu-Boahen and former National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab to postpone proceedings until after the legal vacation.

The lawyers had challenged a warrant issued by the Chief Justice authorising the judges handling the two cases to sit as vacation judges.

Defence lawyers, including former Attorney-General Godfred Dame and Samuel Atta Akyea, argued that members of the legal teams had existing commitments during the legal vacation and requested that the cases be adjourned until October.

However, Justice Baffoe-Bonnie rejected the argument, explaining that decisions on adjournments rested with the respective courts and were not administrative matters that automatically became subject to the legal vacation.

He made the comments while addressing the 2nd Quadrennial Delegates Congress of the Senior Staff Association of the Judicial Service.

The Chief Justice’s position means proceedings in the two cases will continue during the legal vacation.

The court has subsequently adjourned the matter to August 18 for further case management proceedings.

Counsel for the accused persons maintained that some members of the defence teams had already travelled outside Ghana or made prior commitments based on the expectation that the legal vacation would apply to the cases.

The defence had therefore sought more time to enable their respective legal teams to fully participate in the proceedings after the vacation.

Despite the request, the Chief Justice maintained that the legal vacation does not prevent courts from sitting where necessary and that matters relating to adjournments must be determined by the courts hearing the cases.

The development clears the way for the proceedings involving the two former officials to continue during the vacation period.