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Justice John Ajet-Nasam, the High Court judge who presided over such high profile cases as the Woyome Trial and the trial of three in May this year of persons accused of stealing GHC 623,030 from the accounts of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in 2007 has resigned from the bench.

Very credible sources within the judiciary told the ‘Daily Post’ that his resignation follows video recordings by ace investigator, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, spanning a period of six months; one of which he (Ajet-Nasam) could be seen collecting bribe from an accused person in a case before him.

The bribe is believed to have come from accused persons involved in the stealing of GHC 623,030 from the accounts of TOR.

There are indications that many other judges may follow Ajet-Nasam in resigning from the bench since the recording, which sources say has been viewed by the Chief Justice, captured thirty-three of them respectively collecting bribes from accused persons in cases before them to subvert the cause of justice.

Some of the cases for which the judges received the bribes were armed robbery and murder cases. Judges like Justice Kofi Essel Mensah and Justice Charles Owusu both of High Courts in Accra were captured in the video.

Justice Quist, in one of the videos, could be heard telling another person, “what if I release him (an armed robbery suspect) on Friday and I don’t see you again…Oh I will get him off. I will get him off the hook on Friday but everything will depend on you.”

As he usually does after such blockbuster investigations, Anas is expected to formally petition the Chief Justice who will in turn refer the cases to President Mahama. President Mahama, who has vowed to have corruption investigated no matter where it occurs, will then authorize the Chief Justice to investigate the cases to determine if there is a prima facie case. If there is, a judiciary panel will then be set up to begin impeachment process against the accused persons.

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