Accra High Court sets 7-day deadline for Attorney-General in OSP legal challenge

An Accra High Court has granted the Attorney-General seven days to submit its statement of case in a lawsuit contesting the prosecutorial authority and legal foundation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor OSP. The suit, filed by private citizen Noah Adamtey, questions Parliament's power to establish the OSP. The court approved an extension request after state counsel cited "unavoidable administrative constraints" for the delay. Separately, Deputy Attorney-General Justice Srem-Sai stated that the Attorney-General’s Department will comply with a High Court directive to take over all criminal prosecutions currently handled by the OSP. The court ruled that the OSP lacks independent prosecutorial authority, directing that all cases initiated by the anti-corruption body be referred to the Attorney-General’s Department. Presiding judge John Eugene Nyadu Nyante held that while the OSP can investigate corruption, it lacks the constitutional mandate to independently initiate prosecutions, citing Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution, which vests prosecutorial authority in the Attorney-General.