Prominent governance advocate and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), PV Jantuah Boateng Dadson, has sparked wide public discussion after urging the abolishment of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), insisting the institution has failed to fulfill its mandate and has become “a burden instead of a solution” in Ghana’s anti-corruption efforts.
According to Jantuah, the OSP, which was created to independently investigate and prosecute corruption cases, has so far fallen short of delivering the level of accountability Ghanaians expected.
“The Constitution empowers the Minister of Justice, who doubles as the Attorney General, to prosecute any form of criminality within or outside government machinery.
“The Ghana Police Service can lead prosecutions under the directives of the Attorney General. No matter how the OSP’s bill was crafted, its powers and operations still fall under the AG,” he stated on Kumasi-based Ultimate FM.
He argued that the OSP operates in a political environment that limits its independence and effectiveness, resulting in selective enforcement and weak action against politically exposed individuals. Jantuah referenced stalled high-profile cases as proof that anti-corruption frameworks remain insufficient.
He questioned the motivations behind the OSP’s creation under former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“I was surprised that President Akufo-Addo, who once held the belief that the Attorney General’s role was supreme in all prosecutions, went on to create the Office of the Special Prosecutor,” he remarked. “Back in 2005, the Daily Graphic published a story during his vetting as Foreign Minister in which he [Nana Addo] emphasised that the ‘conflict of the Attorney General is superfluous.’ So to me, the OSP was dead on arrival.”
Jantuah proposed that existing oversight bodies — including EOCO, CHRAJ, and the Auditor-General’s office — be strengthened instead, alongside increased parliamentary oversight.
“If I were to advise President John Dramani Mahama, I’d tell him to scrap the OSP entirely,” he said. “Let’s channel those resources into the Attorney General’s Department — recruit more qualified lawyers, equip the regional offices, and pay them well. I don’t see why corruption and bribery cases are handled only in Accra when every region has a High Court.”
He emphasised that without genuine political will and true institutional autonomy, multiple anti-corruption agencies will only duplicate functions and drain national resources.
