An Accra High Court has reserved its ruling for July 23, 2026, on an application by lawyers for the first accused person in the ongoing Buffer Stock Company trial, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, seeking to strike out portions of the charges against him.
The application, filed by the legal team led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, challenges the validity of parts of the charge sheet on grounds that it is legally defective and violates Mr. Aludiba’s constitutional right to a fair trial.
Mr. Dame argued that the charges do not provide adequate details to enable his client to fully understand the allegations against him and properly prepare his defence, contrary to Article 19(2)(d) of the 1992 Constitution and Sections 109 and 112 of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30).
According to the lead counsel, the stealing charges, which cover a period from February 2017 to February 2025, fail to identify the specific transactions involved or explain how each alleged offence was committed.
He contended that the lack of sufficient particulars rendered the affected charges fundamentally defective and should therefore be struck out by the court.
However, the Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, opposed the application, describing the arguments by the defense as a misunderstanding of the legal requirements for drafting charges.
He argued that the purpose of a charge sheet is to provide an accused person with enough information to understand the case against them and not to disclose all evidence the prosecution intends to present during the trial.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Francis Achibonga adjourned the matter to July 23, 2026, to deliver his ruling on the application.
