OSP Report Exonerating Mahama In Airbus Scandal Hoax, Politically Motivated — Martin Amidu

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has rubbished the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) report which exonerated former President John Dramani Mahama of any wrongdoing in the Airbus scandal.

He described the OSP report as “gargantuan hoax, hollow, politically motivated”.

A statement issued by Mr Amidu on Wednesday, August 2, 2024 said, the report “smacks of an instrument of collusive election interference by the OSP in the 2024 elections.

Conduct
Mr Amidu stated that the conduct by the OSP was political, intended to interfere in the 2024 elections which the 1992 Constitution demands to be open, transparent, free and fair, and cannot be allowed to pass without accountability from the OSP.

He indicated that in July 2020, the OSP decided to postpone the interrogation of Mr Mahama, who had been identified by the OSP as Government Official 1 or Individual 1, even though there was overwhelming evidence implicating him in the suspected corruption offences in the Airbus SE-Ghana case because the OSP had to act professionally and avoid the perception of being an instrument of any political party to interfere in the 2020 elections.

“As the Special Prosecutor at the time, I was castigated by the NPP Government and accused of aiding the NDC because of my antecedents. Come the election year of 2024, the OSP ignores the precedent set by the office and published a cooked up report on 8 August 2024 intended to clear sweethearts from lingering suspicion by supressing an objective analysis of the available implicating evidence on the case docket and selectively choosing those to facilitate the political clearance through the agency of the OSP,” Amidu said.

Challenge
He challenged the OSP to explain to Ghanaians why it deliberately suppressed an objective analysis of the implicating evidence on the Airbus SE-Ghana corruption case docket and other evidence which was locked up for safe keeping for professional reasons until they could be deployed at later interrogations as of November 2020.

Intentional
Giving details of the Airbus SE-Ghana corruption case, Amidu said, “The OSP intentionally refused or failed to investigate or suppressed the results on the available facts from the hoax and hollow 8 August 2024 OSP report either out of incompetence or for an entrepreneurial political agenda of self preservation should there be a change in government.”

Further information
Amidu said he is ready, able, and willing to provide Ghanaians with further information to substantiate the charge that the 8 August 2024 Airbus Report of the OSP constitutes political interference by a flagship anti-corruption agency established to professionally investigate corruption and corruption-related offences fairly and impartially.

“The OSP must be held accountable under the 1992 Constitution and Act 959 for the integrity of the 8 August 2024 OSP Airbus SE report.

“The content of the 8 August 2024 OSP report is subjective, a gargantuan hoax, and hollow, and does great disservice to former President Mahama by creating the perception of the OSP dabbling in the politics of election interference for the greedy self-serving interest of the OSP. It is in the interest of former President Mahama to insist on having a thorough and professional investigation that exonerates or inculpates the suspects and not this cooked one,” he said.