AG Drops Charges Against Dr. Opuni, Seidu Agongo In GH¢217 Million Financial Loss Trial

In one of his first official acts since his swearing-in, the Attorney General, Dominic Ayine, has dropped charges against former Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr. Stephen Opuni as well as businessman, Seidu Agongo who were standing trial since 2018, for allegedly causing GH¢217 million financial loss to the state.

A High Court in Accra presided over by Justice Aboagye Tandoh, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, pursuant to Section 59 of the Criminal Procedure and Other Offences Act, 1960, (Act 30), acquitted and discharged the accused persons.

Section 59 of Act 30 states that “In any trial or preliminary proceedings before a District Court a prosecutor, with the consent of the Court, or on the instructions of the Attorney-General at any time before judgment is pronounced or an order of committal is made, may withdraw from the prosecution of a person generally or in respect of any one or more offences with which that person is charged.”

Subsection 2(b)(ii) states that “after the case for the prosecution has been closed, the accused shall be acquitted in respect of the offence or offences.”

Dr. Opuni, Seidu Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Limited were standing trial for 27 charges of causing financial loss to the state, defrauding by false pretenses, conspiracy to commit a crime, abetment of crime, money laundering, corruption by a public officer and contravention of the PPA Act.

Together, they were accused of causing a financial loss of over GH¢217 million to the state through the sale and purchase of the controversial Lithovit Liquid Fertilizer which the prosecution says was never tested.

Enam Loh-Mensah, a state Attorney told the court this afternoon that “the Attorney General has instructed that the charges against the accused person in this matter be withdrawn. My Lord, pursuant to this, the republic has filed a notice of withdrawal.”

Counsel for the accused persons confirmed to the court that they have been served with the withdrawal notice.

Justice Tandoh in his judgment stated that “Accordingly the accused, Stephen Kwabena Opuni, Seidu Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Ltd. are all acquitted and discharged of the charges levelled against each one of them.”

The Judge consequently ordered that the travelling passports of the accused be released to them by the Ghana Police Service and subsequently ordered the registrar of the court to notify the Police, specifically the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Trial

The two have been on trial before a High Court in Accra since March 2018, charged with 27 offenses.

The prosecution led by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, called seven witnesses to prove the charges against the accused persons who were extensively cross-examined by defence lawyers, some lasting about six months.

It closed its case on March 30, 2021, and Dr. Opuni opened his defence and went on to call 10 witnesses in his bid to raise a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

Samuel Cudjoe, lead counsel for Dr. Opuni after the tenth defence witness was discharged, indicated that Dr. Opuni would not be calling any more witnesses and had decided to close his defence.

He also indicated that Dr. Opuni would not be testifying personally as he was convinced that the ten witnesses he called had made a case for him.

“The first accused (Dr. Opuni) is satisfied with the evidence of his witnesses and, therefore, he will not mount the box to give evidence personally,” the lawyer told the court.

Some of the witnesses called by Dr. Opuni included farmers, a banker, and some officials of COCOBOD and Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG), some of whom were subpoenaed.

Some of them are Samuel Amponsah, then Acting Head of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED), and Reginald Aduakwa, a Banker, who was assigned to Dr Opuni at Ecobank.

Seidu Agongo opened his defence had called nine witnesses, one of which was still in the witness box when the Attorney General decided to withdraw the case.