Osman Kanu Appointed Solicitor General Amid Kowa Allegations

Osman Kanu Appointed Solicitor General Amid Kowa Allegations

The Presidency announced the appointment of Osman I. Kanu, Esq., as the new Solicitor General, replacing Robert Baoma Kowa. This personnel change was disclosed through a public notice from the State House on May 26, 2026. 

The notice, which was signed by Secretary to the President Barba B. Fortune, confirmed that His Excellency the President made the appointment, subject to parliamentary approval where required. It was further reported that Mr. Kanu, who had previously served as the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), would assume the role of principal assistant to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, thereby overseeing the state’s legal and administrative operations. 

This transition followed, by only a few weeks, the public lodging of serious allegations by former Minister Sylvia Olayinka Blyden against Mr. Kowa, Foreign Affairs Minister Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba, and Attorney General Alpha Sesay. 

In her public statement, she had asserted that the certificate had been improperly used during High Court proceedings. She called for the matter to be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny and raised concerns regarding the integrity of high-office officials and the potential consequences of such alleged conduct for ordinary citizens. 

It was noted that, at the time the allegations became public, neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Attorney General, nor the Solicitor General had issued a public response. State House has not formally provided an official explanation for the change in the Office of the Solicitor General, nor has it officially linked Mr. Kowa’s replacement to the preceding controversy. 

Nonetheless, the timing of Mr. Kowa's departure was reported to have attracted public attention, coinciding with ongoing discussions about Madam Blyden’s allegations and the wider public debate concerning accountability within senior state institutions.