A High Court in Tamale has convicted four individuals, including three former officials of the Northern Development Authority (NDA), on corruption and procurement-related offences connected to contracts awarded under the government’s Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).
The convicts are Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, former Chief Executive of the Northern Development Authority; Stephen Yir-Eru Engmen, former Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Operations; Patrick Seidu, former Deputy Chief Executive in charge of Finance and Administration; and Andrew Kuundaari, Chief Executive Officer of A&QS Consortium Limited.
According to a statement issued by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), the four were convicted on seven out of eleven counts of corruption and corruption-related offences.
The offences include conspiracy to directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to obtain an unfair advantage in the award of procurement contracts, directly or indirectly influencing the procurement process to secure an unfair advantage, corruption by a public officer and corruption of a public officer.
The charges stemmed from procurement contracts awarded by the Northern Development Authority under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme.
The OSP said the prosecution was initiated following investigations triggered by a complaint lodged by legal practitioner Martin Kpebu.
Although the court found the accused persons guilty, it declined to impose custodial sentences. The court cited the advanced age of the convicts and noted that the Office of the Special Prosecutor had acted swiftly to prevent unlawful payments under the contracts, resulting in no financial loss to the Republic.
Instead, the court imposed a fine of 1,000 penalty units on each convict for each count on which they were convicted.
The OSP described the ruling as a significant development in the fight against corruption and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public funds and ensuring accountability in both the public and private sectors.
“The OSP affirms its commitment to protecting the public purse and holding officials in the public sector and their collaborators in the private sector accountable,” the statement said.
The conviction marks one of the major procurement-related corruption cases prosecuted by the Office of the Special Prosecutor and underscores ongoing efforts to enforce integrity and transparency in the management of public resources.