General News of Tuesday, 27 March 2018Source: Graphic.com.gh'I’m not guilty' - Stephen Opuni pleadsFormer COCOBOD CEO, Dr. Stephen Opuni“I am not guilty, my Lord.” These were the words of Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni, the immediate past Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), when he appeared before the Accra High Court yesterday to answer charges of causing financial loss of GH¢271.3 million to the state. Also pleading ‘not guilty’ was the businessman, Seidu Agongo, who has been accused by the Attorney-General (A-G) of using fraudulent means, with the alleged assistance of Dr Opuni, to dupe the state of the said amount in a fertiliser deal. ‘Not guilty’The two men pleaded ‘not guilty’ to all the 27 charges. The former COCOBOD boss also pleaded not guilty to corruption of a public officer after the A-G had accused him of receiving a GH¢25,000 bribe from Agongo. Although the case was supposed to start at 12:30 p.m., by 9:30 a.m. yesterday Land Court 11, which hosted the trial, was full, with many supporters of Dr Opuni, presumably from his family and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Source: GhanaWeb March 27, 2018 06:56 UTC