A Private Citizen, Samuel Bryan Buabeng has sued the State at the Supreme Court, seeking an order for a declaration that President John Dramani acted unconstitutionally for not up until now replacing former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo on the Council of State after her resignation in September 2025.
The writ filed on September 9, 2026 argues that per the dictates of Article 89(1) and (2)(a)(i), the President ought to have appointed a former Chief Justice to replace Sophia Akuffo after her resignation.
Bryan Buabeng is therefore praying the Court to order President Mahama to consult with Parliament within 14 days and 48 hours after consultation appoint a former Chief Justice to replace Sophia Akufo on the Council.
According to the suit, the President is required under Articles 89(1) and 89(2)(a)(i) to appoint another former Chief Justice where the sitting appointee resigns, becomes incapacitated or is removed from office.
Other Reliefs sought;
A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 89(1) and (2) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Council of State is at all material times not constituted after the resignation, incapacitation or removal from office of a member of the Council of of State whose membership is listed under Article 89(2)(a) (b) and (c) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Articles 89(1) and (2)(a)(i) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Council of State is at all material times not constituted after the resignation, incapacitation or removal from office of a former Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana.
Sophia Akuffo resigned as a member on the Council of State after she served as a witness in proceedings that culminated in the removal of then-Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
Sophia Akuffo’s resignation ended her tenure on the country’s highest presidential advisory body.
Akuffo, who led the judiciary from 2017 to 2020, is understood to have submitted her resignation in 2025.
Her exit follows a turbulent period in which she emerged as a dissenting voice in one of Ghana’s most consequential judicial crises. When the Council of State voted in April 2025 on whether a prima facie case had been established against then Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, 30 of its 31 members voted in favour. Akuffo was the sole abstention.
She subsequently appeared before the Article 146 committee, at the request of the suspended Chief Justice herself, to testify in Torkornoo’s defence.
In an interview in September 2025, Akuffo publicly criticised the proceedings, arguing that Torkornoo had not received a fair hearing. She described the process as a “treason trial,” warned that it had weakened the judiciary, and contended that the allegations against Torkornoo lacked the gravity required to justify removing the head of a justice institution. The remarks drew sharp backlash.
The Council of State is a constitutional body mandated to advise the President on matters of national importance.
