The High Court in Accra has acquitted and discharged the former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau, Kwabena Adu Boahen, on charges of defrauding by false pretences and obtaining public funds by false statements. However, the court has directed Adu Boahen and his wife, Angela Adjei Boateng, to open their defence on the remaining charges, following the dismissal of their respective applications of no case to answer.
The ruling was delivered by the court, presided over by Justice Francis Achibonga, after considering submissions from both the prosecution and the defence. Adu Boahen is facing several charges, including three counts of stealing, defrauding by false pretences, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit and obtaining public funds by false statements. He is also charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit stealing and money laundering alongside his wife.
Angela Adjei Boateng, on the other hand, faces a charge of conspiracy to use public office for profit, while Advantages Solution, the third accused, is charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Explaining the legal basis for his decision, Justice Achibonga stated that at the submission of no case stage, the prosecution is not required to establish the guilt of the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt.
He noted that an application of no case to answer can only be upheld where the prosecution has failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish an essential element of the alleged offence or where the evidence presented has been so discredited that no reasonable jury could return a guilty verdict.
With regard to the three counts of stealing, the prosecution alleges that Adu Boahen, while serving as Director of the Bureau of National Communications, caused approximately GH¢49.1 million to be transferred in three separate transactions of GH¢27.1 million, GH¢1 million and GH¢21 million from the bureau’s Fidelity Bank account to an account belonging to B.N.C. Communications Bureau at UMB, an entity he allegedly owned.
Justice Achibonga identified the key elements of stealing as the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another person. He held that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to establish that the funds in question belonged to the state and that the alleged appropriation occurred through the transfers.
However, on the charges of defrauding by false pretences and obtaining public funds by false statements, the judge observed that none of the prosecution’s witnesses had testified to any alleged false representation. He therefore acquitted and discharged Adu Boahen on those two charges.
The former Director-General was, however, directed to open his defence on the charges of wilfully causing financial loss to the state and using public office for profit. His wife, Angela Adjei Boateng, was also ordered to defend herself against the charges of conspiracy to steal, conspiracy to use public office for profit, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The court further directed the third accused, Advantages Solution, to open its defence on the charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In outlining the next stage of the proceedings, Justice Achibonga reminded the accused persons of their rights in presenting their defence. He explained that they could choose to testify under oath from the witness box, make an unsworn statement from the dock or exercise their right to remain silent.
The court subsequently granted the accused persons three weeks to file their witness statements if they intended to call witnesses in their defence. The case has been adjourned to December 10, 2026, when the accused persons are expected to begin presenting their defence.
Speaking to journalists after the ruling, counsel for the accused persons, Samuel Atta Akyea, disclosed that the defence had formally indicated its intention to appeal the decision, expressing disagreement with the court’s ruling.
