An Accra High Court has slammed the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for “overstepping its boundaries” and “abusing its powers.”

The court presided over by Justice Nicholas Mensah Abodakpi, was dissatisfied with certain depositions in the OSP’s affidavit, which was challenging a legal action brought by a former Presidential Staffer, Charles Cromwell Bissue, seeking to quash an arrest warrant allegedly obtained by the anti-graft agency to arrest and investigate him.

According to Justice Abodakpi, the OSP’s depositions (paragraphs 21-23 of the affidavit) were “scandalous,” an “abuse of office,” with the OSP acting as if it had control over the court.

As a result, the court knocked down the three paragraphs.

“The OSP has no appellate jurisdiction over the High Court.

“You have no appellate jurisdiction over the High Court, whatever power you have,” Justice Abodakpi stated.

What exactly were the depositions?

In the depositions (paragraphs 21-23 of the affidavits), the OSP accused Mr Bissue, among other things, of deceiving the court into issuing an interim injunction based on a non-existent arrest warrant.

In the deposition, the OSP also chastised the court for issuing an interim injunction for 10 days, preventing the anti-graft agency from detaining and investigating Mr Bissue.

“It is, thus, regrettable that although no court warrant was ever issued or existed, this Honourable Court firmly handed down an order of interim injunction against the first respondent, on an ex parte application, to restrain the respondent from discharging its statutory functions for ten (10) days.

It bears noting that a copy of the alleged warrant was never exhibited to the ex parte application, but the applicant had to bear the brunt of the judicial order all the same,” the OSP deposed.

Abuse of power

As the OSP tried to criticise the court for issuing the temporary injunction, Justice Abodakpi stated the depositions were scandalous.

The court stated that the OSP’s best choice was to challenge its verdict rather than condemn it in this manner.

“You cannot remonstrate and castigate the court over decisions it has made,” the judge said.

Justice Abodapki then asked Seth Ansong, counsel for the OSP, if he had a copy of the order issuing the interim injunction, to which counsel answered, “Not that I am aware of.”

The explanation from the OSP provoked a strong response from the judge, who queried how he took the depositions without reviewing the court’s judgement.

“Then why are you saying those things if you haven’t read the ruling of the court?

If you disagree with a court judgement, you can appeal to the Court of Appeal.

You are misusing your abilities.

You cannot condemn me (Judge).

“You haven’t seen the court’s decision and you’re saying those things,” Justice Abodapki stated.

Meanwhile, the case has been rescheduled for a hearing on January 15, 2019, during which a video tape of the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, providing interviews is anticipated to be aired in court.

Lawyers for Bissue said that Mr Agyebeng provided an interview in which he mentioned the arrest warrant, which has become a point of dispute in the case.

The OSP, on the other hand, has accused Bissue of deceiving the court about the existence of the stated arrest warrant, which led to the issuing of the temporary injunction.

The OSP claims that it has arrest authority and hence did not require a court order to carry out an arrest.

As a result, the OSP has suggested to the court that it would cross-examine Bissue’s lead attorney, Nana Agyei Baffour, to ascertain the veracity of his deposition to his affidavit, which said that the OSP had secured an arrest warrant for Charles Bissue.

Justice Abodakpi further ordered the parties — Bissue, the Attorney-General (representing the Kaneshie District, which allegedly issued the warrant), and the OSP — to provide written responses by the next postponed date.