The General Jurisdiction Division 10 of the High Court in Accra has directed the Attorney-General to assume control of all criminal cases currently being prosecuted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), citing the absence of prior authorization from the Attorney-General’s office.
The ruling effectively suspends multiple ongoing prosecutions initiated by the OSP, with the court declaring them invalid until the appropriate legal procedures are followed. The court further awarded costs of GH₵15,000 against the anti-corruption agency.
The decision arises from a case involving four individuals, including Alhaji Seidu of the National Insurance Commission, former Office of the Vice President director James Keck Osei, and Customs officers John Abban and Peter Archibold Hyde. The group is accused of orchestrating the unlawful seizure of containers using forged documents and a fake letter purportedly issued from the Office of the Vice President.
Peter Archibold Hyde, one of the accused persons, had earlier filed a judicial review application challenging the OSP’s authority to prosecute the case.
In its ruling, the court clarified that while the OSP is legally empowered to investigate corruption and related offences, it does not possess the independent authority to initiate prosecutions without the express approval of the Attorney-General. Consequently, all such prosecutions undertaken without that approval were deemed null and void.
The court therefore ordered that the Attorney-General immediately take over the affected cases in accordance with the law.
Reacting to the development, the Office of the Special Prosecutor indicated that the ruling is inconsistent with a prior decision by another division of the High Court, which had put a similar application on hold pending a determination by the Supreme Court on the scope of the OSP’s prosecutorial powers.
The OSP has signaled its intention to challenge the ruling, setting the stage for a potential legal showdown over the extent of its authority in Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.
