Court of Appeal stays trial of Ex-NAFCO Boss pending appeal

The criminal trial of former National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, has been put on hold following a decision by the Court of Appeal to suspend proceedings at the High Court.

The ruling allows the former NAFCO boss to pursue an appeal challenging the High Court's refusal to set aside the charges brought against him.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, sitting on Monday, October 19, 2026, granted the application after determining that exceptional circumstances existed to justify temporarily halting the trial.

The decision means that the High Court proceedings against Mr Abdul-Wahab will remain suspended pending the determination of his appeal concerning the validity of the charge sheet.

How the legal challenge began

The dispute arose after Mr Abdul-Wahab, through his lawyers led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, challenged the charges brought against him before the High Court.

His legal team sought to have the charges quashed, but the application was dismissed in July 2026.

In its ruling, the High Court maintained that the charge sheet provided sufficient information about the allegations to enable the accused to understand the case against him and prepare his defence.

Dissatisfied with that decision, Mr Abdul-Wahab exercised his right of appeal, asking the Court of Appeal to review the High Court's ruling.

His lawyers subsequently filed a separate application seeking a stay of proceedings to prevent the criminal trial from continuing while the appeal remained unresolved.

The Court of Appeal agreed to the request, holding that the circumstances presented justified an interruption of the proceedings at the trial court.

Former NAFCO CEO and wife facing criminal charges

Mr Abdul-Wahab and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, are facing several criminal charges arising from alleged financial misconduct.

The charges include stealing, defrauding by false pretences, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, dishonestly receiving, money laundering and intentional misapplication of public funds.

The allegations remain subject to determination through the criminal justice process.

What the Court of Appeal's decision means

The latest ruling does not determine whether Mr Abdul-Wahab is guilty of the offences alleged against him.

It also does not amount to a decision setting aside the charge sheet.

Rather, the order temporarily prevents the High Court from proceeding with his trial while the Court of Appeal considers the legal challenge to the earlier ruling.

The substantive appeal will determine whether the High Court was right to reject the application challenging the charges.

For now, the prosecution against the former NAFCO Chief Executive remains on hold as the appellate proceedings continue.