OSP to challenge High Court decision to strip it prosecutorial powers

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Makay
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Kissi Agyebeng

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has served notice that it is taking immediate legal steps to challenge and overturn a ruling by the High Court in Accra, which has ruled that they have no authority to prosecute cases.

The High Court today, April 15, 2026, stripped the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) of its prosecutorial powers, handing them to the Attorney General (AG) to take over all criminal prosecutions.

On Wednesday, April 15, the High Court ruling was delivered, representing a significant development in Ghana’s legal and anti-corruption landscape.

Also, the court declared that all ongoing prosecutions initiated by the OSP are null and void, a decision that immediately halts multiple high-profile and ongoing cases being tried in various courts across the country.

Reports suggest the presiding judge, John Nyante Nyadu, further awarded costs of GH₵15,000 against the OSP, underscoring the Court’s position on the matter and the procedural concerns raised in the case.

In  a statement on X, the OSP wrote, “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Conflicting Court Decisions Arise in Republic v. Issah Seidu & 3 Others (Rice Scandal Case)

Accra, Ghana — Proceedings in the case of Republic v. Issah Seidu & 3 Others (Suit No. CR/0513/2025), widely referred to as the “rice scandal case”, have taken divergent paths before two courts of concurrent jurisdiction. The accused persons are currently standing trial before the High Court (Criminal Division), where proceedings remain ongoing.

The Criminal Court dismissed an application by the accused persons seeking to strike out the case. The judge adjourned proceedings to await a determination by the Supreme Court on a matter in which both the plaintiff and the Attorney-General (the defendant) are challenging the independent prosecutorial power of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

In a parallel development, the accused persons initiated a separate action at the High Court (General Jurisdiction 10). In contrast to the Criminal Court, the General Jurisdiction judge declined an application by the OSP to adjourn proceedings pending the outcome of the matter before the Supreme Court. The judge decided that the OSP lacks independent prosecutorial mandate. The judge  directed that the case be referred to the Attorney-General for prosecution.

These developments have resulted in two distinct judicial positions regarding the prosecutorial authority of the OSP in the same matter.

The OSP states that it is taking steps to quickly overturn the decision of the General Jurisdiction Court since the High Court does not have jurisdiction to, in effect, strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional. It is only the Supreme Court which can strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional.

The OSP firmly assures the public that all the criminal prosecutions it has commenced before the courts and all the criminal prosecutions it is about to commence before the courts remain valid and would proceed based on its mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which remains valid and in force as the matter has not been decided by the Supreme Court”.

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