The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has filed 11 new charges against the former Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority, (NDA) his two deputies, and a private contractor.
Mr. Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, Chief Executive of NDA, and three others namely Stephen Yir-eru Engmen, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations), Patrick Seidu Deputy Chief Executive (Finance & Administration) and Andrew Kuundaari, Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, have been arraigned before the Tamale High Court presided by His Lordship Eric Ansah Ankomah for alleged breaches of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663).
The OSP, which confirmed the 11 new charges in a tweet shared on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, indicated that all the accused persons pleaded not guilty.
They were granted bail in the sum of GH¢2,000,000 on the condition that they will surrender their passports and not travel outside Ghana without informing the court.
“The OSP today filed 11 new charges against former Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Development Authority, his two deputies and a private contractor. Accused persons have all been admitted to bail to the sum of GH¢ 2,000,000.
“…upon the following conditions: submission of passport to the registry of High Court and not to leave the jurisdiction without informing the court and (3) each accused to produce 2 sureties with an undertaking to pay the bail sum of GH¢ 2, 000,000,” parts of the tweet read.
“Prosecution to file disclosures by April 18, 2023. Case Management Conference has been fixed for May 2, 2023, with the possibility to open Prosecution’s case that same day,” the OSP added.
Background:
The OSP, in January 2023, charged Sumaila Abdul-Rahman and his two deputies, Stephen Yir-eru Engmen, the deputy CEO in charge of operations and Patrick Seidu, the deputy CEO in charge of finance and administration, for alleged corruption.
Also charged with the three is Andrew Kuundaari, the Chief Executive of A&QS Consortium Limited, a private consultancy firm.
The four were charged with conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.
In a series of tweets shared on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, the OSP said that the four accused persons were granted bail after they pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale.