Former President Akufo-Addo with General Ibrahim Babangida Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has reiterated his stance on reducing Africa’s reliance on foreign aid, emphasising the urgent need for economic self-sufficiency. Former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo According to him, true independence for African nations hinges on building strong institutions, developing local industries and creating sustainable economic opportunities. “We cannot continue to rely on foreign aid as the foundation of our economies. True independence means strengthening our own institutions, developing our industries and creating opportunities for our people,” he said. He was delivering a speech on Thursday, February 20, 2025 in Abuja, Nigeria, at the launch of the autobiography of General Ibrahim Babangida. Coup d’états The former president also expressed disappointment about the re-emergence of military coup d’états in West Africa. According to him, up until a few years ago, he had no doubt the region had built consensus that...

Mr Gregory Afoko After spending almost a decade in custody, Gregory Afoko has finally been granted bail by the Accra High Court. The court set bail at GH₵500,000, requiring two sureties, one of whom must have a landed property. The registrar has been tasked with verifying all documents submitted, and Afoko must report to the police every two weeks. Afoko, who was arrested in 2015, is accused of conspiring with others to assassinate Adams Mahama, the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in a brutal acid attack outside his Bolgatanga home. The trial, which began in 2019, concluded in 2023 with a jury returning a hung verdict on both counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. As a result, the court ordered a retrial. Despite the conclusion of the initial trial, Afoko was re-arrested and denied bail. However, his legal team filed a fresh bail...

Ghana Customs Police at Sogakope are investigating the motive behind the shooting of an Engineer of the South Tongu District Assembly by personnel of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) on Wednesday night. Information available to The Chronicle from Sogakope reveals that at about 21:00hours on Wednesday, February 19, 2025 – vehicle patrolmen of the Monitoring Team from Accra, but based at the South Tongu district capital, signaled an unaccustomed Mercedes Benz with registration number GC 3361-14 to stop, but the driver failed to obey the order. The patrol team pursued it from the direction of Dabala and on reaching the Sogakope Township, the Task Force fired gun shots to immobilise the fleeing vehicle, which objective was achieved. It was, however, discovered that a stray bullet had hit the left hand of one Alex, the Engineer, who was standing by the roadside and waiting for a vehicle to...

Court The Circuit Court in Accra, presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah, has sentenced a 32-year-old driver’s mate, Cephas Okine, also known as “Shatta,” to four years in prison for stealing a ram valued at GH¢50,000. Okine pleaded guilty to charges of unlawful entry and stealing and was convicted on his own plea. Inspector Sheila Tetteh led the prosecution. The court heard that the accused had previously been bonded by a court in Teshie for two years on November 19, 2024, after engaging in a similar offence. His latest crime violated the bond conditions, leading to his imprisonment. Incident Details According to the prosecution, the complainant, Richard Thompson, an IT engineer residing in Teshie, had recently purchased the ram for an upcoming programme. On February 16, 2025, between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., Okine unlawfully entered Thompson’s gated compound at Teshie-Nungua Estate. He attempted to drag the ram...

Court gavel A 44-year-old welder, Paul Ossom, has been arraigned before the Dansoman Circuit Court for allegedly stealing a billboard and selling it to a company that had contracted him to build one. Ossom, who is facing charges of stealing contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29), was absent when the case was mentioned in court on February 17, leading to an adjournment to March 21, 2025. The case is being presided over by Her Honour Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit. Case Background According to the prosecution, the complainant, Richard Adoboah, an advertising agent based in Mallam, discovered on January 25, 2025, that a billboard belonging to PG Advertising Company had been stolen from a site in Aburi. Investigations allegedly linked the theft to Ossom, a resident of McCarthy Hill, who specializes in billboard manufacturing. Further inquiries revealed that Ossom had sold the stolen billboard to Destiny...

The SP, Kissi Agyebeng addressing journalists at his office in Accra The decision by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to remove former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta from the wanted list has sparked outrage among a section of the public. The OSP, in a statement on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, announced that Ken Ofori-Atta, through his lawyers, had given a definite date to appear in person for questioning, thus removing his name from the list of wanted persons. Many critics have accused the OSP of double standards, especially when compared to the treatment of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) officials under previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administrations. Critics argue that while past NDC officials accused of similar offences faced swift legal action and harsh consequences, Ofori-Atta appears to have been shielded from prosecution. One of the strongest dissenting voices is lawyer Kwabla Senanu, who represented former Deputy Finance Ministers...

Court A Circuit Court in Accra has dismissed the GH¢800,000 tax-related fraud case against former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirant Collins Amoah and his co-accused, Solomon Okuley, following a withdrawal of charges by the prosecution. The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Emmanuel Teye-Okuffo, informed the court that businessman Anthony Kojo Ababio, the complainant in the case, had written to express his intention to discontinue the matter. He indicated that the dispute had been resolved amicably and that he no longer wished to pursue legal action. Based on this submission, the court, presided over by Her Honour Susana Eduful, struck out the case as withdrawn. This marked the first court appearance of Amoah since the case commenced on January 29, 2025. Okuley, though present, arrived late to the proceedings. Case Background The case initially gained public attention after the Circuit Court issued a bench warrant for Solomon Okuley’s arrest following...

Mr. Godwin Kudzo Tameklo, the Acting Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) is touring fuel installations in the country to apprise himself of their operations. The visits are to give him first-hand information about the ongoing work, prospects and challenges with the view to offering the needed regulatory support and direction. He is accompanied by the Deputy Chief Executive, Dr. Sheila Addo and the management staff of the Authority. The first port of call was the Ghana Petroleum Mooring Systems Limited (GPMS), where the team was taken offshore and briefed on how fuel vessels are berthed and how the fuel is discharged through pipes to terminals. The team also visited the Ghana Bunkering Services Limited, where it was taken through how fuel is discharged into tankers for onward distribution to Oil Marketing Companies. Thereafter, the team visited the Sentuo Oil Refinery Company Limited and the Tema Oil Refinery...

Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of MFWA The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa and the manager of The Fourth Estate, an investigative journalism outfit under the Foundation, Sulemana Braimah, has explained how the ghost names fraud was operationalised at the National Service Authority. Appearing on TV3 over the weekend, he outlined how the list of personnel astronomically ballooned against the official numbers. The investigation covered the entire period of the previous administration, specifically 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. He explained that the National Service Secretariat every year puts out the total number of persons who are eligible for National Service that year. The number is on the basis of how many students are graduating from the eligible tertiary institutions in the country who will be enrolled for National Service. “So, every year, they put out the announcement. So, if you look at that year,...

The late COP Andoh Kwofie The Director-General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Faustina Agyeiwaa Kodua Andoh-Kwofie has filed a lawsuit against the National Investment Bank (NIB), alleging that the bank’s staff tampered with her late husband’s accounts. In a writ of summons filed at the High Court in Accra on January 22, 2025 COP Andoh-Kwofie, represented by her legal team, led by Kofi Bentil of Lex Praxis Incorporated, is seeking an order compelling NIB to release accurate statements of all bank accounts belonging to her late husband, COP Stephen Andoh-Kwofie. According to the statement of claim, the plaintiff, who is the administrator of her husband’s estate was informed by the deceased that he had multiple accounts with NIB, both in his name and in the name of his company, ANEBONA. These accounts, she claims, contained substantial deposits running into millions of Ghana cedis....