OSP drops charges against Northern Development Authority CEO, others; files 11 new charges

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has reportedly dropped all the initial corruption charges it filed against the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), Sumaila Abdul Rahman, his two deputies, and a private contractor.

According to a news report by Citi TV, the OSP, after dropping the initial charges, filed 11 new ones when the presiding judge for the case, which is being heard in the High Court in Tamale, struck out the old suit.

The OSP, which confirmed the 11 new charges in a tweet shared on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, indicated that all the accused persons pleaded not guilty.

They were granted bail in the sum of GH¢2,000,000 on the condition that they will surrender their passports and not travel outside Ghana without informing the court.

“The OSP today filed 11 new charges against former Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority, his two deputies and a private contractor. Accused persons have all been admitted to bail to the sum of GH¢ 2,000,000.

“…upon the following conditions: submission of passport to the registry of High Court and not to leave the jurisdiction without informing the court and (3) each accused to produce 2 sureties with an undertaking to pay the bail sum of GH¢ 2, 000,000,” parts of the tweet read.

“Prosecution to file disclosures by April 18, 2023. Case Management Conference has been fixed for May 2, 2023, with the possibility to open Prosecution's case that same day,” the OSP added.

Background:

The OSP, in January 2023, 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.

View the OSP's tweet below:

Update: Republic v. Sumaila Abdul-Rahman

The OSP today filed 11 new charges against former Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority, his two deputies and a private contractor. Accused persons have all been admitted to bail to the sum of Ghc 2,000,000…

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— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) April 4, 2023

Prosecution to file disclosures by April 18, 2023. Case Management Conference has been fixed for May 2, 2023 with possibility to open Prosecution's case that same day.

End.

— Office of the Special Prosecutor-Ghana (@ospghana) April 4, 2023