Martin Amidu, a former Special Prosecutor, has urged President John Dramani Mahama to conduct an impartial probe into alleged irregular appointments and payroll fraud at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
In a statement issued on February 26, 2025, Mr. Amidu cautioned that if the suspected fraudulent recruitments at the OSP are not rectified, the President’s resolve to fight corruption will be meaningless.
The former Special Prosecutor claimed that numerous OSP staff were improperly appointed without the Ghana Police Service’s and the National Intelligence Bureau’s (NIB) necessary vetting, which violated the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2017 (Act 959) and LI 2373.
He added that the employees were instead subjected to polygraph tests, which he emphasized are not recognized under Ghanaian law as a substitute for adequate security screening.
Mr. Amidu warned that failing to examine the case would severely harm President Mahama’s credibility in the battle against corruption.
“President Mahama, if you fail to deal with the unconstitutional and unlawful appointments and payroll fraud at the OSP, your rhetoric to fight corruption would have been dead on arrival in your first month of assuming office,” Mr. Amidu stated.
He further encouraged the president to show impartiality and dedication to his anti-corruption vow by investigating all reported acts of wrongdoing, including the OSP’s payroll fraud.
“The easiest way for the president to shut me up from repeating the suspected forgery, payroll fraud, and other crimes constituting the economic crime scene at the OSP supervised by William Kissi Agyebeng is to conduct an impartial investigation into the OSP’s unlawful appointments and payroll fraud,” he noted.
“Mr. President, be even handed and crack the whip to recover all loot from the OSP and earn the nation’s respect this time round in your second tenure,” he said.
