‘Gargatuan hoax, hollow and politically-motivated’ — Amidu reacts to Airbus investigations

Former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, has criticised the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s recent report on the Airbus investigations, calling it ‘a gargatuan hoax, hollow, and politically-motivated.’

In a statement issued by Amidu on Thursday, October 2, 2024, he expressed his disappointment after reviewing the report, which was published on August 8, 2024.

“I read the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) ‘Report of Investigation into Alleged Bribery of Ghanaian officials by Airbus SE’ dated 8 August 2024 for the first time on September 21, 2024 and was left in no doubt that the OSP report is a gargantuan hoax, hollow, politically motivated and smacks of an instrument of collusive election interference by the OSP in the 2024 elections,” he said.

He argued that the report was meant to influence the outcome of the pending elections, noting the content and timing, claiming it lacks objectivity and is driven by political interests.

“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 August 8, 2024, intended to clear sweethearts from lingering suspicion by suppressing an objective analysis of the available implicating evidence on the case docket and selectively . The political conduct by the OSP in using the 8 August 2024 OSP report to interfere in the 2024 elections, which the 1992 Constitution demands to be open, transparent, free, and fair,” it stated.

Martin Amidu further accused the OSP, led by Kissi Agyebeng, of intentionally withholding evidence and protecting certain individuals from investigation.

“The OSP in July 2020 decided to postpone the interrogation of former President John Dramani 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 AirbusSE-Ghana case,” he added.

He urged the OSP to clarify why it suppressed an objective analysis of the evidence on the Airbis SE-Ghana corruption case docket and related information.

“I wish by this article to give the OSP the opportunity to explain to Ghanaians why the OSP deliberately suppressed an objective analysis of the implicating evidence on the Airbus SE-Ghana corruption case docket and other evidence that was locked up for safekeeping for professional reasons until they could be deployed at later interrogations as of November 2020,” he added.

In August 2024, the OSP completed its investigations into the Airbus bribery scandal, with Kissi Agyebeng organising a news conference to present the findings.

He confirmed that former President John Dramani Mahama was identified as ‘Government Official 1’ in the case.

However, the investigations found no evidence that he received any bribes.

This conclusion followed a thorough four-year investigation conducted by the OSP, according to Kissi Agyebeng.

He further explained that the investigations and the disclosure of the identities involved were imperative due to the high level of public interest in the matter.

Read the full statement below: