The High Court in Tamale has directed all four accused individuals implicated in the Northern Development Authority (NDA) corruption trial by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to commence their defence.

The accused persons include Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, the former CEO of the NDA; Stephen Yir-eru Engmen and Patrick Seidu, both former Deputy Chief Executives of the NDA; and Andrew Kuundaari, CEO of A&QS Consortium Limited.

The OSP initiated investigations in June 2022 into suspected corruption and related offences at the NDA regarding a contract awarded to A&Q’s Consortium for consultancy services under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme.

The accused face 11 charges related to corruption and procurement violations in the award and execution of contracts for the NDA.

The presiding judge ruled that the state has established a prima facie case against the accused individuals on all 11 counts, requiring them to present their defence.

The OSP pressed charges against the four following investigations triggered by complaints lodged by private legal practitioner Mr Martin Luther Kpebu, who requested an inquiry into the operations of the NDA and the actions of its Chief Executive and Board Chairman.

The investigation uncovered that the accused persons had breached procurement laws and engaged in corrupt practices.

The investigative findings revealed that Abdul-Rahman, Engmen, Seidu, and Kuundaari manipulated the procurement process to unfairly benefit A&QS in contracts for consultants under the Infrastructure for Poverty (IPEP) project by inflating the approved contract sum from GH₵5,720,000.00 to GH₵10,400,000.00 without proper authorization.

Moreover, Kuundaari's submission of invoices for the inflated contract sum was deemed fraudulent.