Ofori-Atta, Agyabeng Waging A War Of Nerves

The Office of the Special Prosecutor and the former Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, are in a battle of nerves.

The two are flexing their muscles in what looks like a ‘Who is Who’ contest. It is not readily apparent how this legal fisticuffs would end, suffice it to say, whereas the OSP appears to be enforcing its laws, Ken Ofori-Atta is also protesting against what he sees as violations of his rights.

WARNING

The OSP, in a statement released on Monday, March 17, 2025 warned Ken Ofori-Atta that if he fails to attend upon the OSP on June 2, 2025 the office will place him on its wanted list again.

According to the statement signed by the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, the Office in good faith removed Ofori-Atta from the wanted list upon formal request and assurances from the latter.

It went ahead to issue the warning that, “Mr Ofori-Atta is mandatorily required to appear in person before the OSP on June 2, 2025. If Mr Ofori-Atta fails to attend the OSP on the scheduled date, he shall be re-entered on the OSP’s list of wanted persons and the OSP shall consider him a fugitive from justice; whereupon the OSP will cause the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice in his regard and also cause the initiation of extradition proceedings in any jurisdiction in which he may be found.”

TRIGGER

The OSP, however, acknowledged the lawsuit by Ken Ofori-Atta. “The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) acknowledges a lawsuit filed by Kenneth Nana Yaw Ofori-Atta, contesting the OSP’s prior declaration that he was a wanted person and a fugitive from justice,” the SP wrote.

He explained that Mr. Ofori-Atta formally requested the OSP “to remove his name from the OSP’s list of wanted persons with the assurance to the OSP that he would make himself available for questioning on a definite date.

The OSP, in good faith and on the basis of Mr. Ofori-Atta’s assurance, granted his request and removed his name from the OSP’s list of wanted persons pending his personal attendance at the OSP on the definite date.”

THE SUIT

Ken Ofori-Atta on March 13, 2025 filed a suit at the Human Rights Division of the Accra High Court. The application entered by his counsel, Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo, was for the enforcement of Ken Ofori-Atta’s human rights under Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution.

It was the case of the former Minister for Finance that the ‘WANTED’ tag placed on him by the OSP was unlawful and violated his fundamental human rights to personal liberty and free movement as guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the 1992 Constitution respectively.

Mr. Ofori-Atta is challenging what he termed as an unfair, capricious and arbitrary act by the OSP by declaring him wanted.

He said it violated Articles 23 and 296 of the Constitution, as well as the OSP’s refusal to remove his picture as a wanted person from its website despite publishing that he had ceased to be wanted.

RELIEFS

Mr. Ofori-Atta is seeking a declaration from the court that the action by the OSP was unlawful as it had no statutory powers to declare a person wanted without the permission of a court and that it violated his fundamental human rights to personal liberty, free movement and to be treated fairly by administrative bodies.

He is also seeking a declaration that the Special Prosecutor, who is a lawyer, breached the legal profession rules when he responded to letters by his lawyers through a public press briefing and the OSP had also acted capriciously, arbitrarily and unfairly for continuously keeping his picture as a “WANTED” person on its website.

Mr. Ofori-Atta is also praying the court for an order to direct the OSP to immediately remove his picture as a “WANTED” person from the website of the OSP and order compensation for “unlawfully declaring the applicant ‘WANTED,’ publishing the same on its website, and keeping his picture on the wanted list despite a statement by the OSP that he was no longer a ‘WANTED’ person.

He is further asking the court to place an injunction on the OSP from carrying out its threat to re-declare him as a “WANTED person” and “a fugitive from justice.”

BACKGROUND

The OSP at a press conference on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, declared Ken Ofori-Atta, a fugitive from justice.

According to him, the former minister failed to respond to an invitation extended to him to attend the OSP on Monday, February 10, 2025.

Addressing journalists in Accra on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, indicated that a few minutes prior to the press conference, “I signed a directive declaring a high-profile person a fugitive from justice.

The SP, Kissi Agyebeng, who addressed the press, stated that correspondence between the OSP and the lawyers of Mr Ofori-Atta did not indicate a definite date for which he could appear for questioning, making it possible to think he may not surrender himself, thus the decision to declare him wanted.

At the presser, Kissi Agyebeng listed five corruption and corruption-related cases the OSP is probing, for which the former finance minister is a suspect.

He is being investigated in respect of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) and the Ghana Revenue Authority deal, the contract between the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited and Beijing Xiao Cheng Technology, the One Constituency One Ambulance initiative and the National Cathedral saga, and the utilisation of the tax refund account of the GRA.

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