Justice Anthony Oppong, a High Court Judge presiding over the trial of the alleged killers of the Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, yesterday declined to further hear the case, because he did not feel safe to do so, and has asked the Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Justice Georgina Wood, to transfer the case to another court.

He made reference to the recent threatening comment by the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Kwabena Adjei, that the government would clean the judiciary if the Chief Justice failed to do so.

This, he argued, showed that he would not indeed, be safe, if he should go ahead to handle the case.

The Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Ebo Barton Odro, had accused the judge of bias, and pleaded that he be barred from hearing the case.

According to the Deputy Attorney General, Justice Oppong allegedly made a certain comment on the case at a drinking bar, and felt he would not be fair to the prosecution if he is allowed to continue with the case.

Jutsice Oppong, however, expressed surprise at the accusation, which Barton Odro has so far failed to provide evidence of proof.

He contended that the allegation had no basis, because it was the jurors who were going to determine the case, and not him, Justice Oppong.

Justice Oppong also demanded an unqualified apology from Ebow Barton Odro, for describing him as a drunkard.

The Deputy Attorney General later told Citi FM that he did not call the high court judge a drunkard, and that he was misunderstood.

Dr. Kwabena Adjei recently caused a stir in the country, when he announced at a news conference in Accra, that there was much corruption in the judicioary, and that the Chief Jutsice should do something about it, and that if she failed to do so, his outfit would take it upon itself to clean the judiciary.

The comment did not go down well with a section of the population, especially lawyers, leading to a boycott of courts in Kumasi by the Ashanti branch of the Ghana Bar Association.

Meanwhile, Issah Alhassan reports from Kumasi that members of the Ashanti Regional chapter of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) have rescinded their decision to suspend their services, but are calling on the government to provide adequate security to judges and judicial staff in the country.

The association held a crunch meeting in Kumasi yesterday, after which it agreed to call off the strike, and return to the courtrooms.

The GBA, however, re-affirmed the earlier resolution made at its meeting held last week, in which it condemned the pronouncements of the National Chairman of the ruling party, and expressed solidarity in support of the Chief Justice and judges in the country.

The association further resolved that considering the country's historical antecedents, extra protection must be provided for judges and magistrates in the country, to enable them carry out their duties, without fear or intimidation.

The acting Regional President of the association, James Osei Kofi Esq., told The Chronicle in an interview, that members of the association had examined the contents of the statements issued by the Ministry of Information, on behalf of the government, and the Association of Judges and Magistrates, and deemed it fit to return to duty to offer its services to mother Ghana.

Lawyer Osei Kofi reiterated that the association was non-partisan, stressing that the decision to suspend its services was not borne out of politics, but rather a genuine concern for the freedom and independence of the judiciary.

'People must not misinterpret our decision to be political; we do not care about which political party is in power; our concern is that if there are no judges, there would be no lawyers,' he stressed.