Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai has warned that allowing the Court of Appeal’s decision to suspend the trial of Hanan Aludiba and his wife, Faiza Seidu, to stand could make it easier for criminal proceedings to be halted over objections to charges.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, October 22, Dr Srem-Sai disclosed that the Republic had filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the Court of Appeal’s order suspending proceedings at the High Court.
He argued that complaints about charges on a charge sheet should not, on their own, be sufficient grounds to stop a criminal trial, especially when the objections have already been dismissed by the trial court.
“If the Court of Appeal’s decision is allowed to stand, no prosecution will ever be possible, since all it would take for a trial to be suspended is an Accused Person complaining about anything on the charge sheet,” he said.
Dr Srem-Sai added that the state had challenged the order because, in its view, the law did not support suspending a criminal trial under those circumstances. He said the appeal was filed on Wednesday, a day after the Court of Appeal issued its suspension order.
The Court of Appeal halted the High Court proceedings on Monday, October 19, pending the determination of Hanan’s appeal challenging alleged defects in the charge sheet. The defence’s objections relate to aspects of the charges brought against the accused persons.
The Supreme Court is now being asked to review the suspension order. Its decision will determine the state’s challenge to the stay of proceedings, while the underlying criminal case remains before the courts.