Declaring Individuals Wanted Is Unconstitutional – Kofi Bentil on OSP vs Ofori-Atta

Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has challenged the constitutionality of the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) decision to declare former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta wanted, following his failure to appear before the office for questioning.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, June 7, Bentil argued that such actions contravene fundamental legal and constitutional principles.

“It is not constitutional for any institution to declare a person wanted simply because they failed to submit themselves to an investigation,” he stated.

His remarks follow the OSP’s decision to reinstate Mr. Ofori-Atta’s wanted status after he failed to honour a summons on June 2. His legal team cited ongoing cancer treatment as the reason for his absence, but the OSP rejected the medical excuse as inadequate.

In response, the Special Prosecutor initiated procedures to place Mr. Ofori-Atta on INTERPOL’s Red Notice list—an international alert typically used for serious criminal suspects—escalating the matter significantly.

As of Thursday, June 5, Ken Ofori-Atta was officially listed on INTERPOL’s Red Notice database. The listing identifies him as a 65-year-old Ghanaian male, born on November 7, 1959, in Accra. He is described as 1.7 metres tall, with black hair and eyes, and fluent in English and Twi.

Credit: Ernest K. Ahinful