CEO of Northern Development Authority, deputies granted GH¢2m bail each

The Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Sumaila Abdul Rahman, and his two deputies have been granted a GH¢2 million bail each in the case involving the charge against them by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

The OSP charged Sumaila Abdul-Rahman and his two deputies, Stephen Yir-eru Engmen, the deputy CEO in charge of operations and Patrick Seidu, the deputy CEO in charge of finance and administration, for alleged corruption.

Also charged with the three is Andrew Kuundaari, the Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, a private consultancy firm.

The four were charged with conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.

In a series of tweets shared on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, the OSP said that the four accused persons were granted bail after they pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale.

“All four accused persons in the NDA case have pleaded not guilty to charges of corruption before the High Court sitting in Tamale this morning.

"They have been granted bail in the sum of 2 million Ghana cedis each with three sureties to be justified with landed properties. In addition, they are to deposit their passports with the Court,” parts of the tweet read.

It added that the passport of Abdul Rahman was ceased because he had previously tried to travel out of the country.

The case has been adjourned to February 28, 2023, for a case management conference, the OSP said.

View the tweets below:

...with three sureties to be justified with landed properties. In addition, they are to deposit their passports with the Court. The first accused person, Sumaila Abdul Rahman has been stopped from traveling out of Ghana till the determination of the case after he pleaded he has..

— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) January 31, 2023

The case has been adjourned to 28 February 2023 for Case Management Conference.

— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) January 31, 2023