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State Ends 8-Year Trial, Drops Charges Against Opuni and Agongo
In a surprising turn of events, the state has dropped all charges against Dr. Stephen Kwabena Opuni, the former CEO of the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), and businessman Seidu Agongo.
The announcement came after a request was made by the state to withdraw the charges, ending a lengthy and high-profile legal battle.
On Tuesday, a state attorney, Enam Loh Mensah, informed the court that the Republic had filed a notice of withdrawal.
“My Lord, pursuant to this, the Republic has filed notice of withdrawal,” she told the court, confirming the decision to drop the case.
Dr. Opuni and Agongo, who faced a total of 27 charges, had been in court for the past eight years.
They were accused of a range of crimes, including allegedly defrauding the state by false pretenses, causing financial loss to the state, and violating public procurement laws.
Despite the severity of the charges, both men repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The legal battle stemmed from allegations that Agongo, the CEO of Agricult Ghana Limited, had sold substandard fertilizer to Cocobod.
Dr. Opuni was accused of facilitating this by waiving required tests and certification of the fertilizer, which was then distributed to farmers.
It was claimed that this resulted in poor yields and substantial losses for the country.
Their trial began in March 2018 when the Attorney General’s office charged them with causing a financial loss of GH¢271.3 million to the state.
Despite the gravity of the charges, Opuni and Agongo maintained their innocence, with their legal counsel, Samuel Cudjoe and Benson Nutsukpui, confirming that they had received the notice of withdrawal from the state.
After years of back and forth in the courtroom, the decision to withdraw the charges marks the end of a legal saga that has captured public attention for years.
Both men, who had been granted bail of GH¢300,000 each, can now move forward without the looming shadow of these charges.
As the case officially comes to a close, many are left wondering what this development means for the broader conversation about accountability and transparency in Ghana’s public sector.
