Former Signals Bureau boss Adu Boahene files defamation suit against AG Dominic Ayine

Kwabena Adu Boahene, former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB) of the National Security Council, and his wife, Angela Adjei Boateng, have filed a defamation suit against the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akuringa Ayine, for publishing and broadcasting what they say is highly offensive and defamatory material against them at a press conference held on Monday, 24 March 2025.

Samuel Atta Akyea, lawyer for Kwabena Adu Boahene and Angela Adjei Boateng, issued the writ on Thursday, 24 April 2024. The security expert and his wife are seeking three reliefs from the High Court.

Reliefs sought

First is “exemplary and punitive damages against the Defendant (Dr Dominic Ayine) for publishing and/or broadcasting highly offensive, defamatory material of and concerning the Plaintiffs in his press conference dated the 24 March 2025.

Second, “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendant from further publishing and/or broadcasting or causing to be published and/or broadcast the said or similar words defamatory of the Plaintifs ( Kwabena Adu Boahene and Angela Adjei Boateng),” and finally “costs, including lawyer’s professional fees.

Arrest and detention

Kwabena Adu Boahene was arrested by officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) at Kotoka International Airport on Thursday, March 20, 2025, upon his arrival in Accra from London, United Kingdom, on board a British Airways flight, on suspicion of committing various financial crimes.

His wife was arrested on Friday 21 March when she showed up at the EOCO offices to obtain first-hand information on why her husband had been arrested and detained by the state.

EOCO initially granted both husband and wife bail in the sum of GHC120 million (for Adu Boahene) and GHC80 million (for Ms Adjei Boateng). The husband and wife remained in custody because of their inability to meet the bail sums and other conditions imposed by EOCO.

Claims by Diminic Ayine

While in custody, Dr Dominic Ayine, in his capacity as Attorney General, held a press conference where he put out several discoveries his office has made out of onging investigations which were being carried out into the dealings of Mr Adu Bohene and his wife. Dr Ayine among others stated;

“According to the mandate on the account, either of the directors could sign cheques and approve transactions on the account. In his capacity as director of the National BNC, Mr. Adu-Boahene, on January 30th, 2020, signed a contract on behalf of the Government of Ghana and the National Security Council, on the one hand, and on the other hand, an Israeli company called ISC Holdings Limited.

“The contract was for the purchase of a cyber defence system software at a price of seven million United States of American dollars. Let us call this contract the GOG ISC contract. On February 20th, no, February 6, 2020, Mr. Adu-Boahene then transferred an initial amount of 27,100,000 Ghana cedis, that is from the National BNC’s operations account at Fidelity Bank to the Private BNC account at UMB.

Official documentation on the transfer revealed that the amount was for the payment of cyber defence system software, which the National BNC was buying from ISC Holdings in Israel. Mr. Adu- Boahene, in effect, transferred the money from the National BNC to his private company, the Private BNC.

“A review of the transactions on the bank accounts reveals that once the funds from the National BNC landed in the account of his Private BNC at UMB Bank, Mr. Adu-Boahene caused his Private BNC to transfer an amount of 9,537,520 Ghana cedis to ISC Holdings in Israel. By the exchange rate at the time, this amount was the Ghana cedi equivalent of 1,750,000 United States of American dollars.

“To justify or facilitate the transfer of the 9.5 million, Mr. Adu-Boahene fraudulently attached a copy of the Government of Ghana ISC contract as well as an invoice, which he held out as an invoice issued by ISC Holdings Limited in respect of the Government of Ghana ISC contract. On March 18, 2020 and March 30, 2020, respectively, he again transferred 21 million Ghana cedis from the National BNC Director’s account at Fidelity Bank to the same Private BNC account at UMB.

“The narration of the transaction indicated that it was for the payment of the cyber defence system that the National BNC was buying. The transfer from the National BNC’s account brought the total transfers that
he made to his Private BNC to 49 million Ghana cedis. By the exchange rate at the time, this amount was exactly the Ghana cedi equivalent of 7 million United States of American dollars, the exact full amount which he quoted as the price at which ISC Holdings sold the cyber defence equipment to Government of Ghana.

“All the payments transferred to the invoice, I mean a number from ISC Holdings, all the payments referenced the invoice number from ISC Holdings to the National BNC. Importantly, after the initial transfer of the 9.5 million Ghana cedis, which was the equivalent of 1.750 United States of American dollars from the Private BNC to ISC Holdings, no further navments were made to ISC HoIdinas.

“A review of the transactions on the Private BNC account reveals that after the payment of the 1.7 million, 1,750,000, Mr. Adu-Boahene and his wife began applying the rest of the funds for their personal use, making
transfers to local third parties, you know, personal investment as well as transfers to unknown persons. And by the way, ladies and gentlemen of the media, we have all the account details, we have all the receipts
and any person who took money from Mr. Adu-Boahene from that account, we know.

“Now, our investigation, which was conducted by EOCO as I have indicated, has established that the ultimate beneficial, no, sorry, in essence, the difference between 49 million Ghana cedis, being the money Mr. Adu-Boahene transferred from the bank account of the National BNC to his Private BNC, and 9.5 million being the money he actually paid to the ISC Holdings for the software ended up with him and his wife.

“That is to say that the sum of 39,462,480 Ghana cedis of taxpayers’ money went into their private pocket. The investigation has revealed that the ultimate beneficial owner of BNC Communications Limited is another company known as Advantage Solutions Limited.”

Contention of applicants

In their statement of claim, Kwabena Adu Boahene and his wife indicated that “the domino effect of Dr Ayine’s press conference aforesaid is that the footages and commentaries have been widely circulated on various news
portals and social media platforms in which the Plaintiffs continue to be on the receiving end of severe, unmitigated and disdainful backlash to this day.

“The international and widespread opprobrium visited on the Plaintiffs (Kwabena Adu Boahene and Angela Adjei Boateng), by the Defendant (Dr Dominic Ayine), has become a continued discussion on media outlets and has affected the young children of the Plaintiffs who are ridiculed and taunted by their mates in school.

“In the natural and ordinary meaning, the words spewed out to the entire world, of and concerning the Plaintiffs by the Defendant, meant and were understood to mean that the Plaintiffs are criminals and fraudsters who have embezzied State funds to enrich themselves. Needless to-add that the Plaintiffs are involved in money laundering,

“In consequence, the Plaintiffs reputation have been seriously damaged and they have suffered public shame, public hatred, distress and embarrassment The Plaintiffs will rely on the following facts and matters in support of their claim for damages including exemplary and aggravated damages.

“At all material times, the Defendant, working hand in hand with the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), had arrested the Plaintiffs and incarcerated them in the EOCO cells without giving them the opportunity to hear their side of the Defendant’s concluded matter.

“The Defendant acting outside his constitutional remit as Attorney General, and on a frolic of his own, pronounced that the Plaintiffs are criminals and fraudsters, comfortably ignoring the constitutional
postulate that the Plaintiffs are innocent until they are declared guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.

“The Defendant per his pedigree and scholarship aforesaid was acutely aware that the easier way to scandalise the Plaintiffs and to cause them the maximum reputational damage was in the court of public opinion rather than a court of law where he has to prove the Plaintiffs’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” Adu Bohene and his wife noted in their statment of claim filed in court.

Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra

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