Citizen sues AG over OSP’s prosecutorial powers – Srem Sai

Deputy Attorney-General, Justice Srem Sai, has confirmed that a private citizen has taken legal action against the Attorney-General over the independence and prosecutorial mandate of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, December 10, Justice Sai revealed that the suit was filed at the Supreme Court by one Noah E. Tetteh, who is challenging the legality of granting autonomous prosecutorial powers to the OSP.

“I can confirm that a citizen – Noah E. Tetteh – has sued the Attorney-General in Supreme Court suit number J1/3/2026. His grounds: Parliament has no power to set up an office of a prosecutor which is independent and outside the control of the Attorney-General,” Justice Sai wrote.

According to him, the plaintiff is asking the Supreme Court to strike out provisions of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) that allow the OSP to prosecute cases without the supervision or authority of the Attorney-General.
The relief, Justice Sai added, seeks “an order to strike down the provisions of Act 959 that confer autonomous prosecutorial authority on the Office of the Special Prosecutor or insulate it from the Attorney-General’s constitutional control.”

The lawsuit comes at a time when Parliament is already considering changes to the law that established the OSP. Two Members of Parliament—Mahama Ayariga of Bawku Central and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor of South Dayi—have jointly sponsored a private members’ bill seeking a complete repeal of Act 959.

The MPs argue that the OSP has struggled with overlapping functions, operational inefficiencies, and institutional friction with the Attorney-General’s Office, which they say has slowed down prosecutions and weakened coordination in the fight against corruption. They also cite high operational costs and limited impact relative to the resources allocated to the office.

Parliament has, therefore, adopted a policy position that anti-corruption prosecutions should be consolidated under a strengthened Attorney-General’s Office, supported by a specialised anti-corruption division, instead of maintaining a separate independent prosecutor.

If passed, the proposed bill will officially dissolve the OSP and return full prosecutorial responsibility for corruption-related offences to the Attorney-General, in line with Article 88 of the 1992 Constitution.

The Supreme Court is yet to set a date for hearing the citizen’s suit.