Attorney General Dr. Dominic Ayine has issued a strong warning to defense lawyers handling the National Service Scheme (NSS) ghost names scandal, making it clear that no amount of courtroom tactics will derail the government’s quest for justice.
“I have plans in place to avoid frustrations. If they frustrate me, they are frustrating the people of Ghana,” Dr. Ayine said during a press briefing in Accra on Friday, June 13.
The Attorney General was speaking in relation to the ongoing “Operation Recover All Loots” (ORAL), a national probe aimed at retrieving public funds lost through criminal networks. The recent revelations point to a staggering GH¢548,333,542.64 lost through fraudulent activities within the NSS.
“In total, we can confirm from our evidence in the docket and from the investigations that a whopping GH¢548,333,542.64 has been lost,” Dr. Ayine revealed.
The investigations, spearheaded by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), uncovered a widespread network of ghost names and systemic fraud.
“It was discovered that around 81,885 were ghost names. Our investigations have revealed a criminal enterprise whose network covers the entire country. It was discovered that top officials and their accomplices in the private sector were involved,” he added.
Dr. Ayine reassured Ghanaians that the prosecutions would be relentless and thorough.
“We are going to take the prosecution very seriously… we are waiting for them in the courtroom, we will do our best.”
He rejected claims that the exercise was politically motivated, emphasizing transparency and accountability.
“There is nothing absolutely wrong… We have a duty to account to the people of this country. It is not in order to make any political party look bad.
“What we are doing is simply to account to the people of this country. I will continue to account to the people of this country through the press briefings,” he insisted.
