The High Court in Accra has struck out an application by the Attorney-General seeking to revoke the travel permission granted to former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, after ruling that the order had already expired.
The application, filed on July 8, 2026, asked the court to set aside its earlier decision allowing the first accused in an ongoing criminal trial to travel to London.
In its ruling, the court held that the travel order was self-executing and had ceased to have effect after requiring Mr Abdul-Wahab Aludiba to return to Ghana by July 12, 2026. As a result, the judge said there was no existing order before the court capable of being revoked.
When the matter was called on Thursday, July 16, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai moved the application and relied on the motion and supporting affidavit.
The court, however, pointed out that the travel permission had already lapsed.
“There is no order for me to revoke. That order was specific and clearly stated that the accused was to return by the 12th. Having elapsed, I don’t think there is any pending order. The order itself was self-regulating in terms of its validity,” the judge held.
The court further stated that it could only revoke an order that remained in force.
Following the court’s observation, Dr Srem-Sai applied to withdraw the application, explaining that the travel order had expired on July 12. The court subsequently struck out the motion as withdrawn.
Counsel for Mr Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, Godfred Yeboah Dame, argued that the Attorney-General’s application was intended to frustrate the court’s earlier decision allowing his client to travel.
He maintained that by filing the application and allowing it to be heard after the expiry of the travel period, the Republic had effectively undermined the court’s lawful order.
Mr Dame further contended that the application had no legal basis because the order it sought to revoke had already expired by the time it was brought before the court.
He also argued that the Republic remained in breach of the court’s directive by continuing to hold his client’s passport after his arrest.
In response, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai dismissed claims that the Republic was responsible for the hearing date, explaining that motion dates are scheduled by the court registry and not by the parties involved in the case.
Addressing the issue of the passport, he told the court that Mr Abdul-Wahab Aludiba had been instructed to report on Monday to collect the document but failed to do so.
Mr Abdul-Wahab Aludiba was granted permission by the High Court on June 29, 2026, to travel to the United Kingdom for a scheduled appointment with his optician in London following a deterioration in his eye condition. The court directed him to return to Ghana by July 12, 2026.
