Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba
A High Court in Accra has struck out a motion filed by the Attorney General (AG) to revoke the leave granted former Chief Executive Officer of National Food Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, to travel to the United Kingdom.
This was after the court held that the order granting the accused permission to travel to London for medical reason had lapsed on July 12, 2026, hence there was no subsisting order to be revoked.
Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai had moved the application, relying on the motion paper and affidavit in support and was about to argue out his points when the trial judge, Justice Francis Achibonga, drew his attention to the timelines provided by the order.
“There is no order for me to revoke. That order was specific and clearly stated that the accused was to return by 12th (July 2026). Having elapsed, I don’t thinking there is any pending order. Maybe at the time you filed the process, yes. But as at now there is no pending order. Given that the order itself was self regulating in terms of its validity,” Justice Achibonga said.
“I will only revoke an order which is existing and deemed as void,” the judge added.
Dr. Srem-Sai, therefore, withdrew the motion “considering that the order in respect of which the motion was filed has lapsed as at July 12, 2026.”
Former Attorney General, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who is counsel for Mr. Aludiba, in response, said clearly, the application itself was initiated to truncate the order of the court to ensure that the accused was unable to act in accordance with the orders of the court.
He pointed out that it was clear the court could not have granted the application given the fact that the timelines provided by the court had already elapsed.
He added that the state is still in possession of some monies confiscated from Mr. Aludiba as well as his phones and the passport which the court had ordered him to deposit with the registry on or before July 14.
Justice Achibonga subsequently struck out the application as withdrawn.
Rearrest
Mr. Aludiba is standing trial with his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, for allegedly stealing and causing financial loss to the state totalling GH¢62.6 million.
He was arrested at the airport in the late hours of July 4 when he attempted to travel to the United Kingdom for a medical reason.
Deputy Attorney General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, in a Facebook post, confirmed the arrest and claimed Mr. Aludiba, who was granted permission by the trial court to travel, attempted “to use false means to empty his frozen bank account with Republic Bank on Thursday which occasioned tonight’s arrest.”
His legal team lead by Godfred Yeboah Dame, sharply denied the allegation and threatened to initiate contempt of court proceeding against the AG and the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI) Director for thwarting the orders of the court which permitted him to travel to London for medical reasons.
The lawyers subsequently filed an application for Habeas Corpus asking the court to compel the Attorney General, BNI and Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to produce his body following his Rambo-style arrest at the Accra International Airport.
The Attorney General later filed an application asking the court, presided over by Justice Francis Achibonga, to reverse the permission granted to Mr. Aludiba.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak