OSP is risking national stability – Martin Amidu warns over red notice against Ken Ofori-Atta
Martin Amidu has issued yet another strongly worded open letter, questioning the conduct of the current Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, over his handling of the corruption probe involving former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
In his latest missive, Amidu warned that the issuance of an INTERPOL Red Notice without properly consulting the President or Attorney-General not only breaches standard law enforcement protocols but also places Ghana’s national security at risk.
According to Amidu, who served as Ghana’s first Special Prosecutor, the Finance Minister is central to the operations of Cabinet and the National Security Council and remains a vital custodian of sensitive intelligence, even after leaving office.
As such, he believes the decision to publicly declare Ofori-Atta a wanted person—while he was receiving medical treatment abroad—was reckless and potentially damaging to the country’s security architecture.
“While serving or out of office, such persons ought to be handled with decorum as they are assets foreign governments cultivate for purposes of their national security interests,” Amidu wrote.
“This is a basic national security reason no competent national law enforcement agency will humiliate and disgrace such sought-after national security assets.”
He emphasized that, during his own tenure, he ensured President Akufo-Addo was properly briefed before any high-stakes decision was made.
Referring to his handling of the Agyapa Royalties investigation in 2020, Amidu recalled a special meeting he held with the President for security reasons, even though he took no instructions from him.
“So, nobody should tell me that Kissi Agyebeng is an island who does as he pleases and can endanger the security of the country at will,” he fired back.
Amidu argued that declaring a former Cabinet Minister—especially one with access to confidential national security data—a fugitive, without diplomatic caution, makes such individuals vulnerable to recruitment by foreign intelligence agencies.
“Any President who allows his law enforcement agencies to go around inviting his Ministers or former Ministers… and to eventually declare them as wanted fugitives from justice with INTERPOL Red Notices… is risking the stability of his country.”
He added that rather than ambushing Ofori-Atta with an arrest warrant, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) should have worked to ensure his peaceful return after treatment and conducted its investigations in a manner consistent with national security protocols.
Amidu also took a swipe at the political underpinnings of the matter, suggesting that the ongoing ordeal mirrors the partisan retaliatory politics that began under President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration in 2001.
“Several innocent former public officers suffered and have since suffered the physical, psychological, financial, and moral consequences of criminal trials and acquittals during the life of this Constitution,” he reflected.
