By Prince Ahenkorah
Efforts by Kwabena Adu-Boahene, former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), to compel the release of sensitive state documents dating back to 1992 have been firmly rejected by Ghana’s Court of Appeal, dealing a blow to the defence strategy in a high-profile corruption case.
Adu-Boahene, along with other former security officials, is facing trial over allegations of corruption that reportedly cost the state GH₵49.1 million. The accused have pleaded not guilty.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal affirmed the earlier ruling of the High Court, which had thrown out the request, holding that the applicants failed to establish any exceptional grounds to justify the order being sought.
Delivering its decision, the appellate panel stated that the application lacked merit and substance, noting that the accused persons could not show how the requested documents were crucial or directly relevant to their defence at this stage of the proceedings.
On July 3, the High Court, presided over by Justice John Nyante Nyadu, dismissed a similar application brought by Adu-Boahene and his co-accused.
The applicants, through their legal representatives, had asked the court to compel the Attorney-General’s Department to release and disclose certain documents believed to be linked to the operations of the National Signals Bureau and the Ministry of National Security.
The documents, according to the application, included historical records and accounts dating back to 1992, particularly the National Security Coordinators’ special operations accounts.
The accused persons argued that access to these materials was necessary to ensure full disclosure and fair trial.
Their lawyers filed the motion on June 23, praying the court to order the Attorney-General to make the documents available for inspection and copying as part of the pre-trial disclosure process.
However, the High Court refused the request, ruling that the defence had not demonstrated the relevance of the documents to their case, and that granting the order could potentially breach state security protocols and confidentiality.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Adu-Boahene and the other accused persons took the matter to the Court of Appeal, arguing that the trial judge erred in dismissing their request and that the refusal to disclose the documents infringed upon their constitutional right to a fair trial and access to evidence.
After considering the appeal, the three-member panel, however, found no compelling justification to overturn the High Court’s decision.
Consequently, the appeal was dismissed in its entirety, reinforcing the position of the lower court that the request for disclosure was without merit.
The dismissal of the appeal paves the way for the substantive trial of the GH₵49.1 million financial loss case to proceed.
Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his co-accused are standing trial for allegedly causing financial loss to the state through irregular procurement and operational decisions during their tenure at the National Signals Bureau. They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.