OSP moves to overturn High Court ruling transferring prosecutions to Attorney-General

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has initiated urgent legal action to overturn a High Court ruling directing the Attorney-General’s Department to take over all criminal prosecutions currently being handled by the anti-corruption body.

The decision, delivered on Wednesday, 15 April, by Justice John Nyante Nyadu at the High Court in Accra, has triggered fresh debate over the scope of the OSP’s prosecutorial mandate. In addition to ordering the transfer of prosecutorial authority, the court awarded costs of GH₵15,000 against the OSP.

In a swift response, the OSP rejected the ruling, arguing that the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction. The office maintained that only the Supreme Court of Ghana has the constitutional authority to declare provisions of an Act of Parliament unconstitutional.

“The High Court does not have jurisdiction to, in effect, strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional,” the OSP said in a statement, adding that it is taking steps to “quickly overturn” the decision.

The ruling has raised critical legal questions about the interpretation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which establishes the OSP and defines its independence in investigating and prosecuting corruption-related offences.

Despite the court’s directive, the OSP sought to reassure the public that its prosecutorial work remains unaffected for now.

“All the criminal prosecutions it has commenced before the courts and all the criminal prosecutions it is about to commence remain valid and would proceed based on its mandate,” the statement emphasised, noting that the law underpinning its operations remains in force pending any determination by the Supreme Court.

The development sets the stage for a potentially significant constitutional showdown, as the OSP moves to defend its independence and prosecutorial authority in Ghana’s anti-corruption framework.