Lawyer Atta Akyea, lead counsel for former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director General Kwabena Adu-Boahene, has raised serious concerns about what he described as “evidence gagging” following court proceedings in Accra on Thursday.
Speaking to the media shortly after the hearing, Atta Akyea questioned the transparency of the trial, particularly regarding the handling of what he termed exculpatory evidence—documents that could potentially absolve his client and others facing trial over the alleged misappropriation of GH¢49.1 million earmarked for a cybersecurity defense software project.
“I don’t know what is going on. What does it mean to have a fair trial? What does it mean of exculpatory evidence?” he asked.
“The evidence that the Attorney General is possessing, that will aid the accused persons, we should be denying them. That’s called evidence gagging.”
He argued that the prosecution appears selective with its disclosures and questioned how certain sensitive documents—like operational accounts tied to the Office of the President’s National Security Coordinator—were accessed and used by the prosecution, while others were deliberately withheld.
“How was it that they were able to bring President Akufo-Addo’s National Security Coordinator’s operational account? Where did they get it from?” he asked. “Why is it that the rest of the operational account, they don’t want to bring it?”
Akyea maintained that the legal process was being compromised. “What document is it in this realm that the Attorney General should not go and fetch?
“It’s convenient to hide some documents and bring some. And even those things that they’ve brought, they’ve removed some of the documents. What kind of trial is this?”
He further alleged that the Attorney General was deliberately avoiding disclosure of key material, reinforcing suspicions that the trial is being skewed. “The Attorney General believes that there are certain documents they don’t want to divulge.”
The case has been adjourned to July 18, 2025, for commencement of the full trial.
