Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has backed concerns raised by Lawyer Martin Kpebu over the handling of corruption investigations by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), raising serious questions about the office’s integrity and efficiency.
Speaking on the ongoing debate over the OSP on Newsfile, Awuni highlighted discrepancies in the handling of the SML case, which had been widely reported to have started in 2023. “In the past, we trusted information coming from the OSP as a citadel of integrity. I never suspected that an honourable office could publish misleading reports,” he said.
Awuni outlined a timeline that challenges the official narrative: we petitioned the OSP regarding SML, and officials reached out to him on January 29, 2025, to schedule a meeting for January 31. A follow-up email on February 6, 2025, requested additional information for preparatory purposes, suggesting that investigations were only beginning then.
A diary of actions from the OSP shows that the first entry on the SML matter was made at 2:40 p.m. on January 29, 2025, with a supervisor noting the need to prepare an investigation plan, identify persons of interest, and engage relevant departments.
Awuni emphasised that a key figure, Ernest Akore, left the country in November 2024, almost a year after Kpedu submitted his petition, and the OSP was apparently unaware of this critical fact. “If the office had done any substantive work, they would have known he was a person of interest,” Awuni said.
