Over the weekend, the government of President John Dramani Mahama fought a desperate rear-guard action to stem revelations by former National Security official, Kwabena Adu-Boahene.
Adu-Boahene’s revelations directly impacted the President and several high officials and sensitive institutions, including Members of Parliament.
The allegations are contained in a memo written by Adu-Boahene to the National Security Coordinator, in which he alleged that over GH¢8 million was disbursed to opposition parties to support logistics for the 2024 general elections.
The memo also claims that GH¢49 million—currently the focus of a criminal case against Adu-Boahene—was used for covert national security operations. Additionally, GH¢5.1 million was reportedly spent on luxury vehicles for the office of the then President-Elect, Mr. John Mahama.
The revelations by Adu-Boahene caused serious ripples from several quarters, including parliament and sources close to the Presidency.
Mr Victor Kojoga Adawudu, a private legal practitioner with close ties to the Mahama Presidency, said Mr Kwabena Adu-Boahene, former National Signals Bureau Director General, potentially breached the oath of secrecy by divulging unauthorised information to the public, regarding his role.
Speaking on a current affairs programme on Saturday, Mr Adawudu referenced the oath of secrecy public office holders swore, which prohibited the direct or indirect communication of matters during their tenure, except permitted by law.
He emphasised that there were legal repercussions for divulging such information without authorisation.
His caution comes against the backdrop of a recent publication by Mr Adu-Boahene in relation to the alleged embezzlement of funds.
In a letter dated May 6, 2025, to the National Security Coordinator, Mr Adu-Boahene stated that contrary to the claims by the Attorney General that he had embezzled some funds, the said the funds were earmarked for national security operations.
However, Mr Adawudu raised concerns about the legality of the disbursement, saying they were not officially sanctioned.
He said such disbursements were within the established protocols within the National Signals Bureau and the broader national security apparatus.
Mr. Adawudu said financial disbursements were subject to oversight by various bodies, including the National Security Council, the relevant minister, and the finance and administration departments within the National Signals Bureau.
Budgets for security intelligence operations, he noted, were also subject to parliamentary approval and auditing by the Auditor General.
Mr Adawudu also addressed Mr Adu-Boahene’s claims about disbursements to political opponents and parliamentarians.
He suggested that any collaboration with opposition parties by national security agencies typically involved intelligence gathering rather than direct financial support to parties.
Regarding payments to parliamentarians, Mr Adawudu explained that such instances often related to facilitating the approval of essential legislative instruments when budgetary constraints existed.
He suggested that Mr Adu-Boahene reserved his explanations for the appropriate legal forum.
Meanwhile Mr James Agalga, Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, has categorically denied allegations of bribery made by Mr Kwabena Adu Boahene, former Director General of the National Signals Bureau.
Mr Adu Boahene’s lawyer had alleged that GH¢ 960,000 was paid to the Committee as Members of Parliament (MPs) allowance to facilitate the enactment of the National Signals Bureau Act, 2020 (Act 1040).
In a statement released by Mr Agalga on Sunday and issued to the Ghana News Agency, it described the allegations as “baseless and an act of desperation.”
It emphasised that Mr Adu Boahene could not have facilitated the passage of the Act by paying monies to the Committee, as he was not involved in the process.
“The National Signals Bureau, the agency Adu Boahene subsequently headed as Director General, was non-existent prior to the passage of Act 1040. It is not possible that he could have facilitated the passage of the said Act by paying monies to the Defence and Interior Committee,” the statement said.
It explained that the Committee dealt with the Minister for National Security, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah, who was the principal sponsor of the Bill, and Mr. Joshua Kyeremeh, the National Security Coordinator, during the enactment of Act 1040.
“Adu Boahene became Director General long after the passage of Act 1040 and could not therefore have drawn monies from the accounts of an agency which was not even in existence,” it added.
The statement, quoted Mr Agalga as saying, “I only got to know Adu Boahene sometime in April or May 2021 when he appeared for the first time before our committee and was introduced to us by Hon. Albert Kan Dapaah, the Minister for National Security at the time, as the newly appointed Director General of the National Signals Bureau, long after the passage of Act 1040.”
