Samuel Atta Akyea
Lawyers representing former Chief Executive Officer of National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba as well as former Director-General of National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene, and two others, have written to the Chief Justice protesting the decision to conduct their trials during the legal vacation.
The lawyers contend that the decision to continue the trial of the two former appointees of the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is unprecedented and discriminatory.
They also point out the enormous toll this decision will take on them, having worked throughout the legal year, and their clients who have had to attended court throughout the period.
To this end, the lawyers have indicated their inability to comply with what they describe as unconstitutional directive to conduct part-heard cases during the legal vacation.
Hanan Trial
Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, are standing trial for allegedly causing financial loss of GH¢62.6 million to the state.
The trial has not commenced yet as the court had just completed preliminary proceedings, including case management and interlocutory applications brought on behalf of the accused persons.
There is currently an appeal against the trial court’s decision to dismiss an application which urged it to strike out the charge sheet for being defective and not disclosing enough information as to the alleged crimes charged.
The lawyers have filed for a stay of proceedings pending the determination of the appeal.
On July 30, 2026, the court, presided over by Justice Francis Achibonga, adjourned the case to August 11 and 12, 2026 for the trial to start.
“The judge further stated that he was just a “servant” mandated by you to sit in the vacation for the conduct of the trial and therefore, a party who had an issue with it should take it up with you, His Lordship the Chief Justice,” Godfred Yeboah Dame, counsel for Mr. Aludiba, indicated in his letter to the Chief Justice.
According to him, the warrant for Justice Achibonga to commence the hearing during the legal vacation without the consent of the parties in the matter, is irregular and contrary to law.
He pointed out that there is no urgency to this matter as the accused persons were arraigned before the court only on May 5, 2026, after earlier charges were withdrawn by the Republic through no fault of theirs.
Mr. Dame says he and his colleagues from Dame and Partners, having worked throughout the legal year, are not in the position to attend court in the vacation for the conduct of the trial, as they “will take advantage of the legal vacation to attend to many matters of immense importance (as all lawyers around the country do in the legal vacation).”
He further pointed out that Mr. Aludiba and his wife, who were denied the opportunity to take their child, who is suffering from a severe medical condition, out of the county for medical attention, would like to use the legal year to seek medical care for their child.
“Respectfully, the directive for Justice Achibonga to sit in the legal vacation is unprecedented and may hint at discriminatory treatment,” the letter said.
The letter added that the handpicking of a few criminal cases from among the many hundreds of criminal cases around the Greater Accra Region for hearing in the vacation may unnecessarily expose the Chief Justice to accusations of unfair and discriminatory treatment.
“We humbly submit that the fact that our clients, who are politically exposed, are accused of crimes (which they vehemently deny) allegedly committed as a result of their previous political exposure, is no justification for a different set of laws, rules and regulations to be applied for the conduct of their trial.”
Adu-Boahene, 2 Others
Samuel Atta-Akyea, counsel for Adu-Boahene and his wife, in a separate letter to the Chief Justice, alleged the existence of “two criminal justice delivery systems” – the track that has been set by the Chief Justice to hurry justice pertaining to some “special criminal cases” programmed before specialised courts vis-à-vis the second track where criminal cases travel their normal course and never in an ambulance mode.
It said the legal vacation has long been a period for both lawyers and judges to rest after an exhaustive year and to recuperate for the year ahead, and the directive to conduct the trial in the legal vacation will throw in disarray all the private personal engagements and travel plans of the members of his law firm.
“With respect, this directive to continue with the part-heard trial risks exposing Your Lordship to claims of selective justice. Numerous other cases of repute, both criminal and civil, have been placed at a standstill by the legal vacation and adjourned to October and November 2026, to afford both judges and lawyers rest during the vacation,” the letter said.
The letter urged the Chief Justice to reconsider the directive and withdraw the warrant, with the hearing days vacated and the case adjourned to abide term-time in a manner consistent with the treatment afforded other pending cases.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak