The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has stated that Paul Adom-Otchere, the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, was invited as a key suspect in its ongoing investigations.
The OSP has clarified that the letter of invitation submitted to the journalist and former GACL Board Chair clearly indicate that Mr. Adom-Otchere is a key suspect, not just a person of interest.
The comments follow the suspect’s failure to meet his bail conditions, which has kept him in detention at the OSP’s facility.
In a telephone interview on TV3’s BigIssue on the NewDay morning show Friday, August 1, 2025, the Director of Strategy, Research, and Communication at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Samuel Appiah Darko, clarified the terms of the invitation.
“The OSP has set a bail term; Mr. Adom-Otchere has not been able to meet the bail term. Mr. Adom-Otchere was invited to come to the OSP, not as a person of interest, but as a suspect.
“He put the letter out and those have read the letter will see that the letter was directing him to come as a suspect because he is a key suspect in the investigation and he got his letter on Monday and he was asked to come to the office on Thursday,” he stated.
According to him, Mr. Adom-Otchere’s claim that he is a subject of witch-hunt by the OSP is unfounded, as the Office has strictly adhered to the law in handling the matter.
Darko explained that as a suspect, Adom-Otchere is entitled to his opinion, and given the consequences of falling under the law, he might resort to such tactics to gain public sympathy, which the OSP is not swayed by.
According to him, the evidence the OSP has obtained suggests that Mr. Adom-Otchere is a key suspect in a wrongdoing, which the laws of the land mandate the OSP to investigate.
When asked about allegations from the suspect that the OSP is witch-hunting him, he said, “Suspects are entitled to their opinions. It’s a fearful thing to fall under the law. So when people are called by law enforcement agencies, they tend to put up a defense and want to win public sympathy. But for us, we’re not looking at public sympathy or whatever you want to gain. We’re looking at the law.”
“As far as the OSP is concerned, we have come across evidence that directly point to certain actions of Mr. Adom-Otchere as a Board Chairman, that falls in line with the offences that we are allowed to investigate,” he clarified.
Background
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) on Thursday, July 31, 2025, detained Paul Adom-Otchere and two others over the Ghana Airport Company Limited’s (GACL) contract being probed by the OSP.
Mr Adom-Otchere, according to the OSP, failed to meet his bail condition.
The Office interviewed and formally charged Adom-Otchere, who is a former Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Limited, and the two others.
But, the OSP in a statement said Mr Adom-Otchere has so far been unable to meet his bail conditions.
He is required to present two landed properties (of no specific value) registered in his name. However, he has informed the OSP that he does not own landed property in Ghana.
As a result, the OSP said he was going to remain in custody until the bail terms were satisfied, and subsequently transferred from the OSP offices to another facility where it is believed he is being detained.
Mr Adom-Otchere was seen arriving at the OSP premises around 2:50pm in the company of persons believed to be his lawyers. This was 10 minutes before the 3pm scheduled appointment the OSP had given him.
He stayed in the OSP premises close to four hours until a few minutes to 7pm when journalists who had gathered outside the premises saw him exiting in the company of some policemen.
The two other persons are Kwame Otchere Baffour Awuah, the Group Executive, Commercial Services at the GACL and Albert Adjetey Adjei-Laryea, CEO of Devnest Systems.
Mr Adom-Otchere is under investigation in connection with a revenue assurance contract between the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) and a private firm owned by the proprietor of Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Ltd (SML).
The OSP has said it was examining possible procurement breaches, including a sole-sourced contract awarded to a company other than the one approved by the GACL Board.
It is the job of the courts to convict, not the OSP – Sammy Darko replies critics
