Friday, 14 November

SML drags OSP to CHRAJ over bias, administrative injustice, obstruction of justice

News
Kissi Agyebeng, OSP

Strategic Mobilisation Ghana Limited (SML) has escalated its dispute with the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) by petitioning the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over allegations of bias, abuse of power, administrative injustice, and violations of its constitutional rights.

In a petition dated 12 November 2025, SML invokes CHRAJ’s jurisdiction under Article 218 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 7 of the CHRAJ Act, 1993 (Act 456) to conduct a full-scale investigation into the OSP’s probe of its revenue assurance contracts with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

SML asserts that the OSP’s conduct amounts to a “gross abuse of discretionary power” and a “violation of fair administrative process.”

The petition specifically targets lead investigator Mr. Albert Akurugu, accusing him of actions that deviate from established procedures and reek of vindictiveness. SML alleges that Mr. Akurugu, who previously served in the GRA’s Customs Division during West Blue Consulting’s tenure, harboured a “clear conflict of interest.”

 It further claims he pursued the investigation with “personal animus and retaliatory motive.” During interrogation, he reportedly declared that he would “make sure SML and its CEO never work again.”

SML also condemns the OSP’s raid on its offices on 10 June 2025 as untenable. Officers allegedly “destroyed servers, dismantled CCTV systems, and violated digital forensic protocols”—acts the company describes as “a deliberate attempt to inflict operational harm.” Several hardware components, including servers, firewalls, and SCADA systems, were damaged or seized, breaching international standards on chain-of-custody, digital evidence handling, and property protection.

Furthermore, SML accuses the OSP of “deliberately suppressing” favourable reports from statutory institutions, including the GRA, National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Ministry of Finance (MoF), and Ghana Standards Authority, all of which it claims validated its performance.

 The OSP’s published report, SML alleges, adopted a favourable narrative for West Blue while downplaying its own contributions.

SML is urging CHRAH to find the OSP and Mr Akurugu  culpable of abuse of power and administrative injustice, bias and compromised Neutrality, violation of digital forensic standards, suppression of evidence and misrepresentation, obstruction of justice, among others.

Source: Classfmonline.com/Cecil Mensah