A lawyer for former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, Frank Davies, has said he cannot explain why his client was picked up and detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to Frank Davies, Ken Ofori-Atta’s legal team in the United States is working to have his immigration case resolved.
He revealed a decision why be made by ICE in the coming days.
Frank Davies asserted that Ofori-Atta had filed a petition for an extension of his U.S. immigration status, but despite this, he has been detained at the ICE Caroline Detention Facility.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Thursday, January 8, Frank Davies stated, “The little I know from our counterpart lawyers in the U.S., limited as it is, is that he’s put in a petition for an extension of his immigration status, and contingent upon that, ICE, for whatever reason, picked him up”.
“I cannot explain why they have decided to pick him up and detain him.”
“They are working to have this matter determined expeditiously. In the fullness of time, maybe in the next day or two, we will all get to know what decision has been taken,” he said.
However, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a Ghanaian activist and lawyer, has told Ghanaians that the embattled former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta was not arrested over Ghana’s extradition request.
The lawyer highlighted that Ken Ofori-Atta was arrested for overstaying his visa.
In a post on social media X, on January 8, 2026, Barker-Vormawor stated, “Ken Ofori-Atta was not arrested over our extradition request. He was arrested for overstaying his visa”.
He further clarified that Ken Ofori-Atta is “liable to being deported. Not extradited”.
The remarks follows a public notice issued by Ghana-based law firm Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline and Partners (MPOBB) on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, which revealed that Ofori-Atta’s detention is linked to questions surrounding his continued stay in the United States, rather than any criminal wrongdoing.
According to them, Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which, in US immigration law, allows an individual to remain in the country beyond the validity of their original visa while it is considered.
The public notice read, “The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as of yesterday (6 January 2026), detained the former Minister for Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, regarding the status of his current stay in the United States. His US legal team is in contact with ICE and expects the matter to be resolved expeditiously,”
“Mr Ofori-Atta has a pending petition for adjustment of status, which authorises a person to stay in the US legally beyond the period of validity of their visa. Under US law, a change of status by this method is common.
“The public is, therefore, advised to note that he is a law-abiding person and is fully cooperating with ICE to have this issue resolved. His legal team is in contact with ICE and working to resolve the matter as expeditiously as possible,” the public notice further read.