Prof Aaron Mike Oquaye, the former Speaker of Parliament, has backed the High Court decision to strip the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) of prosecutorial power.
According to Prof Oquaye, who presided over the very Parliament that passed the OSP Act, highlighted that the court’s decision was not strange at all.
The former Speaker of Parliament argued that the 1992 Constitution remains the supreme authority.
He explained that the 1992 Constitution gives the Attorney General the sole authority to prosecute.
Speaking on JoyNews Thursday, April 16, Prof. Oquaye explained, “The constitutional provisions we give the Attorney General as the sole authority to prosecute cannot co-exist with another organisation until the law of the Constitution is changed,”
Prof. Oquaye stated. “If it’s against the law, it’s against the law.”
Also, Justice Srem Sai, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, has disclosed that the Attorney-General’s Department is ready to grant the Office of the Special Prosecutor authorisation to prosecute.
The Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice highlighted that the Attorney-General’s Department will grant the OSP authorisation to prosecute cases if a formal request is made.
Justice Srem Sai also dismissed suggestions of tension between the two institutions.
He emphasised that the Attorney-General’s office remains open to collaboration in the fight against corruption.
Speaking on JOY FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday, April 17, explained, “Why not, why won’t we grant them the authorisation when they apply for it?”
It will be recalled that the Accra High Court ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has no authority to prosecute cases.
The High Court ruling 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
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”.