Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Justice Srem Sai has disclosed that the Republic has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging a Court of Appeal order suspending the criminal trial of former National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni.
In a case update, Dr Srem Sai stated that the government filed the appeal on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, following the Court of Appeal’s decision on Monday, October 19, to halt proceedings in the case popularly known as the Buffer Stock Case.
The state is challenging the suspension on the grounds that a criminal trial should not be halted merely because an accused person has raised objections to charges on the charge sheet, particularly when those objections have already been dismissed as lacking merit.
“This is because the law does not allow a criminal trial to be suspended simply because an Accused Person has complained about some of the charges on the charge sheet, more so when those complaints were dismissed as meritless”.
Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Justice Srem Sai
The Supreme Court appeal introduces a fresh legal contest over whether the High Court trial can proceed while the defence challenges the validity of the charges brought against the accused persons.
Government Challenges Court of Appeal’s Suspension Order
Dr Srem Sai argued that allowing the Court of Appeal’s decision to stand could create a precedent that makes criminal prosecutions vulnerable to delays whenever an accused person contests aspects of a charge sheet.
“If the Court of Appeal’s decision is allowed to stand, no prosecution will ever be possible, since all it would take for a trial to be suspended is an Accused Person complaining about anything on the charge sheet”.
Dr Justice Srem Sai, Deputy Attorney General and Minister for Justice
The appeal follows a ruling by a three-member Court of Appeal panel presided over by Justice Noble Nkrumah, which granted a stay of proceedings on October 19, 2026.
The appellate court considered the defence’s objections to the charge sheet significant enough to require determination before the trial could continue. The ruling placed the High Court proceedings on hold while the legal dispute over the charges remains unresolved.
The state’s latest move seeks to challenge that intervention at the Supreme Court, escalating the dispute across Ghana’s judicial hierarchy.
Defence Challenges the Charge Sheet
The dispute originated from an application by the defence team, led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, asking the Accra High Court to quash the charge sheet.
In July 2026, the defence argued that the prosecution had improperly grouped multiple transactions into single counts without providing sufficient particulars. The application sought to challenge the legal basis on which the accused persons were being prosecuted.
However, High Court Judge Justice Francis Achibonga dismissed the application, ruling that the information provided was sufficient for the defence to proceed with the trial. The judge nevertheless directed the prosecution to amend two counts.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the defence appealed to the Court of Appeal, leading to the October 19 decision to suspend proceedings. The appellate court held that because the charge sheet forms the foundation of a criminal trial, the alleged defects raised by the defence were exceptional and needed to be resolved before the proceedings could continue.
The state’s appeal to the Supreme Court now challenges the decision to halt the trial while the dispute over the charges remains before the courts.
Buffer Stock Case Involves Alleged GH¢78 Million Loss
The criminal proceedings, formally titled The Republic v Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba & Anor, concern allegations of financial misconduct involving more than GH¢78 million in public funds.
Aludiba, the former CEO of NAFCO, and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, are facing a 20-count charge sheet that includes stealing, money laundering, defrauding by false pretences, wilfully causing financial loss to the Republic, using public office for profit and dishonestly receiving.
The prosecution alleges that the accused persons diverted public funds intended for the government’s food buffer stock operations. Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The allegations remain before the courts and have not been established as proven offences.
The High Court granted the couple bail totalling GH¢150 million, comprising GH¢100 million for Aludiba and GH¢50 million for Wuni. They are also on the Ghana Immigration Service stop list to prevent them from travelling outside the country.
Supreme Court Challenge Could Shape Next Steps
The Supreme Court appeal places the dispute over the charge sheet and the suspension of the trial at the centre of the case’s next legal phase.
For the prosecution, the central issue is whether objections to the particulars of charges should prevent a criminal trial from continuing after a lower court has considered and dismissed the application to quash the charge sheet.
The defence, meanwhile, had challenged the High Court’s decision on the grounds that the charges were improperly framed. The Court of Appeal considered the issues raised significant enough to warrant resolution before the trial proceeded.
Dr Srem Sai’s announcement signals the state’s intention to contest the suspension rather than allow the High Court proceedings to remain on hold without further challenge.
The Supreme Court’s consideration of the appeal will determine the next stage of the dispute over the Court of Appeal’s order. Until the relevant courts resolve the outstanding issues, the trial remains caught in a legal contest over the validity of the charges and whether proceedings can continue.
The latest development adds another layer to the prosecution of the former NAFCO chief executive and his wife, with the state seeking to overturn the order that has halted the case.
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