The Member of Parliament for Okaikwei Central, Patrick Yaw Boamah, has described attempts by the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, to extradite a Russian national accused of recording and circulating sexual videos involving Ghanaian women without their consent as a “lost cause.”

Speaking to Channel One News on Monday, February 16, Mr Boamah, who serves on Parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Committee, argued that the Communications Minister lacks the legal locus to initiate such an extradition process.

He noted that Ghana does not currently have an extradition treaty with Russia, making the process legally challenging.

He further emphasised that the uncertain status and identification of the complainants could complicate efforts to prosecute the suspect. He also indicated that amendments to the Cybersecurity Act would first need to be laid before Parliament and passed to strengthen the legal framework for such action.

“The Attorney General hasn’t made any application for extradition, which I think no court will grant, with the greatest of respect, because we don’t have that treaty with the Russians.

“Russia is not a state party to the Budapest Convention, which criminalises some of these things that the minister was talking about, including the additional protocols. And also, the amendment to the Cybersecurity Bill is not properly before Parliament. So those are issues that the government has to deal with,” he said