The Supreme Court has dismissed a motion seeking to bar Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu from presiding over the trial of former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene, who is facing allegations of causing a financial loss of GH₵49 million to the state.
In a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, October 29, the five-member panel, led by Justice Avril Lovelace Johnson, dismissed the application, stating it lacked merit and did not meet the threshold required to prohibit a trial judge.
Charges
Kwabena Adu-Boahene and his wife, Adjei-Boateng, have been accused of diverting GH₵49 million, intended for the purchase of software for the state, into their private company through a network of companies ultimately owned by ASL.
Adu-Boahene has pleaded not guilty to charges including defrauding by false pretences, wilfully causing financial loss to the state, using public office for personal gain, and obtaining public property by false pretences. His wife faces charges of collaboration to use public office for personal gain, conspiracy to launder money, and money laundering. Both have been granted bail by the trial court.
Motion
On October 22, 2025, Adu-Boahene, through his lawyer Samuel Atta Akyea, filed a motion invoking the supervisory jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to prevent Justice Nyadu from hearing the case.
He claimed that the trial judge had displayed bias, alleging that Justice Nyadu had already made decisions regarding the relevance of evidence that could support his defence, undermining his constitutional right to a fair trial.
Adu-Boahene further argued that the judge’s ruling that certain evidence requested from the Attorney-General was irrelevant suggested a predisposition against him and the co-defendants.
He also cited the court’s decision to schedule proceedings from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as evidence of an unusual interest in the case, which he argued could compromise the judge’s impartiality.