The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has announced that it is taking immediate legal steps to challenge and overturn a ruling by the High Court in Accra, which ordered the Attorney-General’s Department to assume control over all criminal prosecutions currently being handled by the office.

The directive, issued on Wednesday, April 15, by Justice John Nyante Nyadu, has sparked legal debate over the extent of the OSP’s prosecutorial authority.

The Court also awarded costs of GH₵15,000 against the OSP in addition to ordering the transfer of prosecutorial control.

In a statement released shortly after the ruling, the OSP expressed strong disagreement with the decision, insisting that the High Court had exceeded its jurisdiction.

The anti-corruption body said it is actively pursuing legal remedies to have the ruling set aside as quickly as possible.

The OSP stated that it is:

“taking steps to quickly overturn the decision of the General Jurisdiction Court since the High Court does not have jurisdiction to, in effect, strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional. It is only the Supreme Court which can strike down parts of an Act of Parliament as unconstitutional.”

The office further assured the public that, despite the ruling, its ongoing and intended prosecutions remain valid under the law.

“The OSP firmly assures the public that all the criminal prosecutions it has commenced before the courts and all the criminal prosecutions it is about to commence before the courts remain valid and would proceed based on its mandate under the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959), which remains valid and in force as the matter has not been decided by the Supreme Court.”