OSP stay application in quo warranto case adjourned to June 8

The High Court in Accra has adjourned the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s application seeking to suspend the effect of an earlier ruling on its prosecutorial powers.

The matter, which was expected to be heard on Thursday, could not proceed because lawyers for the respondent were unavailable.

The court, presided over by Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu, said it had received a letter from the respondent’s legal team proposing new dates for the hearing.

The suggested dates included May 28, May 29 and June 8, 2026.

Justice Nyadu subsequently fixed June 8, 2026, for the hearing of the OSP’s stay of execution application.

The application seeks to temporarily halt the enforcement of an earlier High Court decision which held that the OSP does not have independent prosecutorial authority.

On April 15, 2026, the High Court ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor could not independently prosecute criminal cases.

The court held that while the OSP has power to investigate corruption-related offences, prosecutions must be handled through the Attorney-General’s Department.

Justice Nyadu based the decision on Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution, which gives prosecutorial authority to the Attorney-General.

The ruling has raised questions about ongoing cases being prosecuted by the OSP.

Those cases are effectively uncertain pending further legal direction.