Presidential staffer and media personality Bridget Otoo has weighed in on the ongoing social media debate over Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie’s remarks about sentencing notorious armed robber Ataa Ayi to 70 years in prison.
The nominee, during his vetting before Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Monday, November 10, 2025, justified the lengthy sentence as necessary to protect the public and ensure justice. He explained that while judges adhere to sentencing guidelines, some crimes warrant tougher punishment.
“In my youthful days, I gave somebody 70 years — Ataa Ayi,” Justice Baffoe-Bonnie said. “If Ataa Ayi was given 30 years and came back, my family would be the first he would attack. So by the time he comes back after 70 years, I’ll be dead and gone.”
His comment has since sparked mixed reactions online, with some praising his candour and others accusing him of bias.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday November 11, Otoo defended the judge, arguing that his statement was taken out of context.
“He spoke in context. Beyond that, this hardened criminal killed mercilessly! He deserved death but got 70 years,” she wrote.
Bridget further dismissed critics of the sentence, adding that anyone who felt Ataa Ayi’s punishment was excessive could “form a Free Ataa Ayi movement.”
She emphasised that the convicted robber’s actions had left many Ghanaians traumatised and that the judge’s decision reflected the gravity of his crimes.
Ataa Ayi, once Ghana’s most feared criminal, led a robbery gang that terrorised Accra residents in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was arrested in 2005 after one of Ghana’s most intense police manhunts and was later convicted on multiple counts of armed robbery.
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