COCOBOD TRIAL: SHOCKING TEST RESULT FROM STANDARDS AUTHORITY
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It has emerged that crucial evidence regarding a pivotal test conducted on lithovit foliar fertilizer by the Ghana Standards Authority confirmed the product as a fertilizer.
In an unexpected twist during the trial of Dr. Stephen Opuni and Seidu Agongon, it has emerged that crucial evidence regarding a pivotal test conducted on lithovit foliar fertilizer by the Ghana Standards Authority in 2017 was withheld by the prosecution. This concealed evidence, which confirmed the product as a fertilizer, has raised serious concerns regarding the transparency of the legal proceedings.
During the court proceedings, Senior Investigator Paul Agyei Gyang from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) revealed that while the initial test conducted on the lithovit fertilizer yielded a negative result, indicating it was not a fertilizer, a second test conducted by the Ghana Standards Authority unequivocally identified the substance as a fertilizer. Despite receiving this second test result, which addressed the substance's identity, the prosecution failed to present it in court, prompting questions about the fairness of the trial.
Under cross-examination, Agyei Gyan confirmed that the second test report explicitly stated the substance was a fertilizer, yet it was conspicuously absent from the evidence presented in court. Complicating matters further, it was disclosed that the initial test, which returned a negative outcome for lithovit, was conducted by a department ill-equipped to analyze fertilizers, casting doubt on the reliability of the initial results.
This revelation of withheld evidence has become a focal point in the trial of Dr. Opuni and Mr. Agogon, raising doubts about the integrity of the prosecution's case. Agyei Gyang detailed how a previous report, conducted by the wrong department, had a different result and was tendered as evidence by the prosecution.
The investigation into the alleged fraudulent importation of agrochemicals sold to COCOBOD was never completed by EOCO, as the Organised Crime Unit, headed by Agyei Gyang at the time, handed over the docket to the police for further investigation.
Dr. Opuni, Seidu Agongo, and Agricult Ghana Ltd face a total of 24 charges, including abetment of crime, defrauding by false pretense, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, willfully causing financial loss to the state, manufacturing fertilizer without registration, selling misbranded fertilizer, selling adulterated fertilizer, and corruption by a public officer. Seidu Agongo and Agricult Ghana Ltd were acquitted on three counts of money laundering at the beginning of the case.
All three defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges and are on self-recognizance bail.
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