The High Court in Accra has dismissed an application by former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene, and his two co-accused seeking to strike out portions of the prosecution's written submissions in their ongoing criminal trial. The court ruled that it was not its duty to investigate whether written submissions filed by lawyers accurately reflected evidence presented during the trial. This decision was made by Justice Francis Apangabuno Achibonga.
The application was moved by defence counsel, Samuel Atta Akyea, who challenged portions of the prosecution's submissions filed on October 9, 2026, in opposition to the accused persons' submission of no case. A submission of no case asks the court to determine whether the prosecution has presented sufficient evidence to require the accused persons to open their defence. Mr Akyea argued that the prosecution had introduced materials that were not supported by the record of proceedings.
Defence counsel alleged that the prosecution attributed statements to witnesses who had not made them during their testimony and made representations about the contents of an exhibit in a manner that contravened the rules of court, the law of evidence, and professional ethics. According to him, the alleged inaccuracies posed a risk of misleading the court in its eventual judgment. He warned that failure to address the matter could result in a miscarriage of justice.
Deputy Attorney-General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, opposed the application, arguing that the court had no jurisdiction to expunge arguments contained in written submissions simply because the opposing party disagreed with them. He maintained that the court could evaluate the prosecution's arguments against the evidence already on record without requiring an affidavit in opposition to the defence's allegations.
Dr Srem-Sai argued that the appropriate role of the court was to assess the submissions of both parties and determine whether the accused persons had a case to answer. He further pointed out that the defence had filed a reply to the prosecution's submissions on October 19, 2026, providing an opportunity to challenge what it considered inaccurate representations of the evidence.
In his ruling, Justice Achibonga said written addresses were intended to assist or persuade a judge on the law and facts but could not substitute for evidence presented during a trial. He stated that written submissions relying on non-existent evidence had no probative value, emphasising that the court must base its decision on witness testimony and exhibits properly admitted into evidence.
The judge noted that the defence had already addressed the disputed matters in its reply to the prosecution's submissions. He therefore dismissed the application, stating that it was the responsibility of counsel to alert the court to alleged misrepresentations, while the court must rely solely on the established evidence in reaching a fair conclusion.
Key points
- The High Court in Accra dismissed an application by Kwabena Adu-Boahene to strike out portions of the prosecution's written submissions.
- The court ruled that it was not its duty to investigate whether written submissions filed by lawyers accurately reflected evidence presented during the trial.
- The defence had already addressed the disputed matters in its reply to the prosecution's submissions.
