Ex-NAFCO Boss asks court to strike out 16 counts of charges against him

Former National Food Buffer Stock Company Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, has mounted a fresh challenge to the criminal case against him, asking the High Court in Accra to strike out most of the charges filed by the Republic.

He argues that 16 out of the 20 counts on the charge sheet are defective and do not give him enough information to prepare a proper defence.

The application, filed on July 13, is before the High Court’s Specialised Court in Accra.

The case is titled The Republic v Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba & Faiza Seidu Wuni.

Mr Abdul-Wahab, who pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned on May 15, is facing several charges.

They include stealing, defrauding by false pretences, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, intentional dissipation of public funds and money laundering.

In his application, he is asking the court to strike out counts 1 to 8 and counts 13 to 20.

His lawyers, Dame & Partners, contend that those counts are vague, repetitive and lacking in the particulars required for a fair trial.

According to the application, the charges cover a broad period from February 2017 to February 2025 but fail to identify the specific dates, transactions and acts allegedly committed by the accused.

Mr Abdul-Wahab argues that this leaves him guessing about the exact case he is expected to answer.

“To prepare my defence, I would need to know what I am accused of doing. The charges do not provide details but demand that I guess,” he said in his affidavit.

“A trial built on speculation is no trial at all,” he added.

The former NAFCO CEO maintains that he has committed no offence.

He, however, says the nature of the charge sheet violates his constitutional right to be informed in detail of the allegations against him.

His lawyers argue that one of the counts alleging the theft of about GH¢50.9 million does not explain how the offence was allegedly committed.

They also say several counts of causing financial loss to the state do not state the specific acts said to have caused the alleged loss.

The application further challenges two counts that accuse Mr Abdul-Wahab of both stealing and defrauding by false pretences in relation to the same amount of GH¢5.5 million.

His lawyers argue that the two offences are legally inconsistent and should not be framed in that manner over the same transaction.

Mr Abdul-Wahab says the defects in the charges make it impossible for him to receive a fair trial.

He is relying on Article 19 of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees fair trial rights, including the right of an accused person to be informed in detail of the nature of the offence charged.

The Attorney-General has been served with the application.

The court has fixed Monday, July 20, to hear the motion.