Dr Dominic Ayine, Attorney General and Minister for Justice, has revealed that eight individuals engaged in the National Service Scheme (NSS) scandal have approached his office to negotiate plea deals and are willing to testify against others.
A A plea bargain is a legal agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor, where the defendant pleads guilty to a crime in exchange for specific concessions, such as reduced charges or a shorter sentence. TThis eliminates the need for a whole trial.
Dr. Ayine, speaking at the Government Accountability Series, highlighted this development as a significant step forward in continuing investigations.
“I am pleased to announce that eight suspects in this investigation have approached my office for plea negotiation, including three former officers of the National Service Authority,” the politician said. “Some officials have offered to testify against their colleagues, and some vendors and service providers are willing to come clean and testify as prosecution witnesses.”
Dr. Ayine underlined that these individuals are providing direct accounts, not hearsay.
“They are not come to report rumour. These are the persons that were involved, and we are negotiating with them and their lawyers.
He also stated that the intended filing of charges last week was postponed due to the discovery of additional information implicating financial malfeasance.
“We discovered evidence of misconduct involving a Bank of Ghana account into which GH¢189 million was placed. GH¢80 million cannot be traced. We discovered two cheques with the name and account details of the former Director-General, Mr. Osei Asibe, which were utilised to withdraw about GH¢2 million from the mentioned account.
Dr. Ayine indicated that charges had been temporarily held back to allow investigators to obtain additional paperwork from the Bank of Ghana, the Ministry of Finance, and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.
“In fact, as I speak, the Bank of Ghana has signalled to me that they will deliver the entire bank statement for my attention this morning.”
He emphasised that the restoration of misused monies is non-negotiable in any plea arrangement.
“As a precondition, I tell them: return the money that we calculated you took. You are a prosecution witness. That is the strategy we are taking.
Dr. Ayine finished by confirming the government’s commitment to accountability and implying bipartisan support for the return of every cedi misused.
“I am sure the NPP will be very happy for me to insist that 100 per cent be returned to the Attorney General before any deal can be cut.”
