Actors in NSA 'ghost names' saga to face court next week-Attorney-General

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, announced charges against former directors of the National Service Authority (NSA). These charges relate to the ghost names scandal. They will be filed in the first week of May 2025.

This decision follows President John Dramani Mahama's directive for a thorough investigation. The investigation revealed 81,885 suspected ghost names on the NSA payroll. This anomaly was found during a nationwide headcount of active national service personnel.

The audit began under Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. It aimed to reconcile and settle outstanding service allowance arrears from August 2024. The issue first gained attention from an investigative report by The Fourth Estate in November 2024.

This report highlighted significant payroll irregularities at the NSA. One key figure under investigation is former NSA Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi. He was questioned by the National Investigations Bureau (NIB) on March 20.

Antwi attended with legal representation after being invited for questioning about his role in the scandal. On April 30, Dr. Ayine spoke to the media in Accra about the investigations' progress. He confirmed that they have advanced significantly.

“The investigations into the National Service ghost names scandal have progressed well,” he stated. “We will file charges against some involved from the first week in May.”

Dr. Ayine also mentioned plans to press charges in other high-profile corruption cases. These include issues related to the Sky Train project and the National Cathedral project. Other cases involve procurement of mathematical sets and Senior High School WiFi initiatives.

He noted that dockets for these cases are being finalized for prosecution.