The Attorney General, Dr Dominic Ayine, has directed the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) to investigate the National Democratic Congress’ National Organizer, Joseph Yamin and its third Vice Chairman, Yakubu Abanga, for their alleged involvement in illegal mining in certain mining districts in the country.
In a letter dated July 15, 2025, the Attorney General instructed EOCO to invite Joseph Yamin and Abanga, whose names had come up in recent reports, for interrogation.
This comes after there have been concerns about the rise of illegal mining months after the John Dramani Mahama government took office.
The Attorney General asked that EOCO treat the issue with all the seriousness it deserves, indicating that this move aligns with President John Dramani Mahama’s Reset Agenda, which seeks to restore discipline to Ghana’s natural resource governance and eliminate illegal mining across the country.
“The President has consistently reiterated his government’s firm commitment to eradicating illegal mining and restoring sanity to the natural resource governance regime in Ghana,” the Attorney General stated.
The letter further empowered EOCO to deal with persons complicit in illegal mining in the report by Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s report on illegal mining.
“The scope of this investigation should include the matters highlighted in Prof. Frimpong Boateng’s report on illegal mining,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, Joseph Yamin has in a statement denied his involvement in galamsey.
According to him, he is not into mining, and therefore, the allegations are a figment of people’s imagination.
He urged people accusing him of also using an illegal task force to forcibly take money from illegal miners to seek the right authorities to deal with their issues as he has not sanctioned any task force.
