Two suspects in the high profile buffer stock case have been re-arrested moments after a court discharged them, following a sudden decision by the Attorney General to withdraw all charges.
The case, titled The Republic v Hanan Abdul Wahab Aludiba and four others, was halted after prosecutors said they had uncovered fresh evidence. The Attorney General withdrew the charges before the trial could properly begin, bringing the initial proceedings to an end.
Shortly after the court ruling, officers from the Economic and Organised Crime Office moved in to re-arrest Abdul Hanan Wahab and his wife Faiza Seidu Wuni. Authorities say the move clears the way for new charges to be filed.
Under Ghana’s criminal procedure law, the Attorney General has the power to discontinue a case at any stage. This is set out in section 59 of the Criminal and Other Offences Procedure Act and backed by constitutional authority to conduct criminal prosecutions.
Legal experts say the timing of the withdrawal is critical. Because the charges were dropped before prosecutors presented their evidence, the accused were discharged but not acquitted. In simple terms, they have been released from the current case but have not been cleared of wrongdoing.
That distinction means the state is free to bring the same or similar charges again based on the same facts. If the withdrawal had come after the prosecution closed its case, the accused would have been acquitted and could not be tried again on those charges.
In this instance, the withdrawal happened during the case management stage, before the trial began in earnest. As a result, prosecutors are not barred from reopening the case.
Officials say the re arrests were made to allow investigators to act on the new evidence and to prepare fresh charges. The Attorney General is expected to review the material and file a new case aimed at ensuring a faster trial.
The development marks a dramatic turn in a case that had appeared to be winding down, signalling that the legal battle is far from over.
