By: Isaac Darko Boamah
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced plans to appeal an Accra High Court decision that directed the transfer of all criminal prosecutions it is handling to the Attorney‑General’s Department.
On Wednesday, April 15, Justice John Nyante Nyadu ruled that the OSP does not have independent prosecutorial authority and ordered the office to cede control of its cases. The judge also imposed costs of GH¢15,000 on the OSP.
The OSP immediately rejected the finding, saying the High Court exceeded its powers by effectively undermining parts of an Act of Parliament. In a statement, the anti‑graft body said it will move quickly to have the ruling set aside by the appropriate higher court and reiterated that only the Supreme Court can pronounce on the constitutionality of parliamentary enactments.
Despite the ruling, the OSP said it remains confident in the validity of the cases it has already commenced and those it plans to bring, pointing to its statutory mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959). The office said it will continue to pursue legal remedies to protect its operations.
The decision has produced conflicting judicial positions in a high‑profile matter — Republic v. Issah Seidu & 3 Others (Suit No. CR/0513/2025), commonly called the “rice scandal” case. While the Criminal Court has continued the trial and postponed a ruling until the Supreme Court addresses a constitutional challenge to the OSP’s prosecutorial powers, the General Jurisdiction court took the opposite view and directed that the case be handed to the Attorney‑General.
The Supreme Court is already seized of a related constitutional challenge brought by private citizen Noah Ephraem Tetteh Adamtey, which asks whether Parliament lawfully granted the OSP independent power to initiate prosecutions. The Attorney‑General’s Office has sided with questions raised in that challenge, arguing certain provisions may be at odds with Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution.
Legal commentators say the matter will likely be resolved only by the Supreme Court, and its ruling could substantially redefine the OSP’s role and the mechanics of prosecuting corruption offences in Ghana. For now, the dual court decisions have created legal uncertainty over how ongoing OSP prosecutions should proceed.
