The case involving the Former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board( COCOBOD), Dr Stephen Opuni and Businessman Seidu Agongo, has once again been adjourned by High Court Judge, Justice Clement Honyenuga to Monday, April 30, 2018.
The judge's decision follows a disagreement between lawyers of Dr. Opuni and Deputy Attorney General Godfred Dame regarding a request made by the ex-CEO's lawyers demanding that they be given copies of documents the prosecution intends using against them.
After hearing the two sides, the judge adjourned the case pending the determination of a similar motion filed in the case involving former NCA officials and the state, where former Board Chair of the NCA, Baffoe Bonnie, and ex-Director General William Tevie, are also demanding the state to make available documents it intends to use in the prosecution.
According to the judge, since there is a similar case in the determination of Article 19 (2) (e) and (g) at the Supreme Court, he will be undermining the Supreme Court if he gives a judgement for or against the motion, and, so, he is waiting for the determination of the NCA case and the decision taken there will be binding on this particular one.
The two are in court for allegedly causing financial loss to the state through three separate fertilizer supply contracts between 2014 and 2016.
The contracts were GHS43.1million (2013/2014 cocoa farming season), GHS75.3million (2014/2015 cocoa farming season) and GHS98.9million (2015/2016 cocoa farming season) totaling GHS217million through sole-sourcing, the state claimed, adding that procurement procedures for sole-sourcing were not followed.
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