Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba
A High Court has struck out two new witness statements filed by the Office of the Attorney General (AG) in the trial of former Chief Executive Officer of National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni and three others.
This followed the decision of the court, agreeing with defence lawyers that the two witness statements which sought to replace existing ones should have been filed with the leave of the court as per the practice direction on disclosures in criminal trials.
The accused persons and companies related to them are on trial for allegedly stealing GH¢78 million from the state. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Esi Dentaa Yankah, a Principal State Attorney, had informed the court that the prosecution had filed two witness statements for James Tieku Apau and Clara Naa Koshie Nyarko on April 24, 2026, adding that “we wish to substitute them with witness statements filed on December 18, 2025.”
This prayer was vehemently opposed by former Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who argued that the two new witness statements were filed in violation of the rules governing the proceedings before the court.
He contended that the prosecution should have first sought leave of the court, justify the request for the court to enquire whether the prosecution wished to amend the witness statements before it could be filed.
“Clearly, they have not applied for leave and they have not demonstrated why that leave should be granted. They have not indicated the nature of the document they have filed before you,” he argued.
Mr. Dame added that “from the process filed, it cannot be determined whether it is an amendment to the already filed witness statements or an addition or indeed an entirely new one. This is totally out of order, it is not known to the rules before you.”
Augustine Obour, counsel for Faiza Seidu Wuni, pointed out that the prosecution having announced that they had concluded their case management, cannot file the new witness statements without the leave of court, adding that “anything after that announcement is abusing the principle of law.”
Justice Francis Achibonga, in a short ruling, agreed with the defence lawyers that the prosecution cannot file the witness statements at this point without the leave of court. He, therefore, struck out the two new witness statements.
Prosecutorial Authorisation
Meanwhile, the court has set May 5, 2026 to rule on an objection raised by Mr. Dame regarding an Assistant Staff Officer of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) appearing alongside lawyers from the Attorney General’s office.
The Principal State Attorney had argued that per section 1 of Law Officers Act, a public officer acting under the authority of the Attorney General may do so on the Attorney General’s direction and evidence shall not be required as to that direction.
She added that the Deputy Attorney General had on occasions introduced the assistant staff officer in court, hence there was no need to produce any evidence authorising the assistant staff officer joining the prosecution of this case.
Mr. Dame, however, opposed this assertion, arguing that the Attorney General, having been vested with prosecutorial authority can only delegate that power or authorise a person to prosecute in accordance with the laws of Ghana.
“The mere introduction of a person who is not a staff of the Attorney General of the rank specified in the Law Officers Act of 1974 does not amount to a law,” he pointed out.
Justice Achibonga temporarily struck out the assistant staff officer’s name from the proceedings and directed the Office of the Attorney General to produce evidence of the authorisation given to the said staff to guide the court in making an informed decision.
The court will also take a decision on a request made by counsel for Faiza Seidu Wuni regarding certain electronic gadgets that were taken from her during her arrest but were not part of the disclosures made to both the defence and the court.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak