Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has called for an expedited hearing of the Habeas Corpus application filed by lawyers of the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba over his continued detention.
Martin Kpebu argued that delaying the hearing of the application until Friday, July 10 would undermine Ghana’s criminal justice system.
The application filed by Godfred Dame, lawyer for the accused before the specialised division of the High Court, is seeking an order directing the Director of the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI) and the Attorney-General to produce the body of Hanan Abdul-Wahab, who is presently being held in custody at the cells of BNI.
The application is also seeking the A-G and BNI to comply with the terms of the order of the court dated June 29, 2026 granting leave to Hanan Abdul-Wahab to travel out of the jurisdiction.
Aludiba was arrested by armed security operatives at the Accra International Airport on Saturday, July 4, while preparing to travel abroad for medical treatment under an arrangement that had been approved by the court.
Speaking on the matter on TV3’s Ghana Tonight, Monday, July 6, Mr. Kpebu said he fully supports the Harbeaus Corpus application being pursued by former Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, insisting that the application should be heard as soon as possible.
“For that one, I support Dame and Hanan 250%,” he said.
According to him, his understanding is that the application has been scheduled to be heard on Friday, July 10, but he believes that is an unnecessarily long wait.
Mr. Kpebu suggested that Mr. Dame should immediately file an application to abridge the time, enabling the case to be heard on Tuesday, July 7.
“My understanding is that the application is to be heard on Friday, July 10. That is too long. I think Godfred Dame can file an application to abridge the time to tomorrow (Tuesday, July 7),” he stated.
He further urged that the application be served promptly on the Attorney-General and appealed to Acting Chief Justice Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to grant the request for an expedited hearing.
“This one, they can quickly cause it to be served on the Attorney-General. Chief Justice Baffoe Bonnie can grant so that he can get to go to court tomorrow (Tuesday, July 7) so that they can hear it,” he said.
Mr. Kpebu warned that postponing the hearing until Friday would be embarrassing for the country and could erode public confidence in the justice system.
“It will be very embarrassing for us as a nation if we have to wait till Friday for the application to be heard,” he added.
Explaining the legal significance of the application, the lawyer noted that a writ of Habeas Corpus is intended to protect individuals from unlawful detention by requiring authorities to produce the detained person before a court.
“This one is Habeas Corpus, which means ‘bring out the body.’ It means that you are holding somebody illegally, so bring out the person,” he explained.
Mr. Kpebu questioned why a Habeas Corpus application should take longer to be heard than the constitutional requirement that a suspect be brought before a court within 48 hours of arrest.
“If you are to bring the accused or suspect to court within 48 hours, how can an application for Habeas Corpus now go to 96 hours? It is not good for our system,” he argued.
He said such delays make “a mockery of our criminal justice system” and expressed hope that the necessary legal steps would be taken to ensure the matter is heard without further delay.
Background
Mr Aludiba, who led NAFCO, the state agency responsible for supplying foodstuff to the school feeding component of the Free Senior High School programme from 2017 to 2025, has been facing prosecution over allegations of stealing and causing financial loss to the state running into tens of millions of Ghana cedis.
He and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, were re-arraigned in May 2026 on 20 charges, including stealing, defrauding by false pretences, money laundering and abuse of public office, after the Attorney-General withdrew and restructured an earlier 24-count charge sheet. The two were granted a combined bail of GH¢63.5 million, with conditions including the deposit of their passports at the court registry and a requirement to report periodically to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
Prosecutors have alleged that Mr Aludiba diverted more than GH¢50 million in NAFCO funds through a network of companies linked to himself and his wife, including Sawtina Enterprise, Aludiba Enterprise, Energy Partners Limited and Fa-Hausa Ventures, with some of the accounts involved held at Republic Bank’s Labone branch. A trial date of 15 July 2026 has already been set by the High Court.
It is not yet clear what specific means Mr Aludiba is alleged to have used in the attempt to access the frozen account, or what his current custody status is following the airport arrest.
