The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has raised concerns about the ongoing trial of the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, in the ambulance case, characterizing it as a form of 'persecution.'

Speaker Bagbin stressed the need to uphold the rule of law while voicing his reservations about the unfolding developments in Dr. Ato Forson's case.

These remarks were made during his visit to the family of the late former Majority Leader in Parliament, Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong, on Thursday, October 19.

"The Majority Leader [Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu] indicated to me that he had to come ahead, he had some challenges to attend to in Kumasi, so he will not be available," 3news.com quoted the Speaker.

"The Minority Leader, unfortunately, is being persecuted, so on a number of these occasions, he can't be with us because he is appearing in court, as of now, he is in court being trialed. It is not that we don't want the rule of law to apply; we all want it to apply, but where prosecution is just a gamble, 'I may win or I may not win, but let me do it,' I will not prescribe that for any politician because as a leader, you always have to take the risk. You could get it right; you could get it catastrophically wrong."

Mr. Bagbin further emphasized the potential chilling effect of such prosecutions, stating, "Could you be prosecuted because of that? Then there will be tribulation; nobody will have the courage to come out boldly and take decisions where things are really hard."

Former Finance Minister Seth Terkper appeared in court on Thursday, October 19, serving as the key witness for the Defense in the trial of Dr. Forson and two others.

He testified that he provided full authorization to his then Deputy, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, permitting him to request Letters of Credit from the Bank of Ghana for the procurement of 30 ambulances from Big Sea General Trading Ltd of Dubai.

Mr. Terkper elaborated that he granted this authorization during a special management meeting he chaired at the Finance Ministry. This proactive step was taken to facilitate a contract between the Government of Ghana and Big Sea, with the aim of preventing any potential legal issues and judgment debts arising from contract delays and breaches.

Dr. Ato Forson faces two counts of allegedly causing financial loss to the state by establishing Letters of Credit for the ambulance procurement without due cause and authorization, as stated by the current Attorney General.