The Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra has struck out two witness statements filed by the prosecution in the ongoing trial of former CEO of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, and four others.

The ruling was delivered on April 29, 2026, by Justice Francis Achibonga, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge.

The decision followed a strong objection by counsel for the first accused, Godfred Yeboah Dame, who argued that the prosecution had already filed witness statements for the same individuals, which had been adopted during the case management conference.

He contended that the introduction of fresh statements, accompanied by new evidence, without leave of the court, was “unknown and offensive to the Practice Directions governing the conduct of criminal proceedings in the High Court.”

Mr Dame further questioned the nature of the documents filed, stating that it could not be determined whether the new filings were amendments, substitutions, or additional witness statements.

He pointed to Regulation 4 of the Practice Directions, arguing that the prosecution was required to seek leave before filing such statements and must demonstrate that the new material was not previously available or could not have been known at the time of the original filings.

He therefore urged the court to strike out the statements as unlawfully filed.

Counsel for the second accused, Augustine Obour, supported the objection and aligned with the submissions made by Mr Dame.

When pressed by the court to justify the filings, the prosecution, led by Esi Yankah, was unable to provide legal authority for the submission of the witness statements. Instead, the prosecution requested additional time to regularise the process.

The court upheld the defence’s arguments and struck out the two witness statements filed by the Republic.

The case has been adjourned to May 5, 2026, for continuation.