As a result, the number of individuals eventually charged could be lower than the 22 named in the report.

“Before we go to court, the number will not be 22. It will come down because we are still in talks with these individuals,” he explained.

Dr Srem Sai also confirmed that plea bargaining is an option for some of the accused.

“After we charge them, they have the opportunity to enter plea bargains—admit guilt, negotiate reduced sentences, and return the money,” he said.

He noted that these discussions allow suspects to explain why they should be granted leniency in exchange for restitution and cooperation.

Importantly, Dr Srem Sai stressed that this ghost names investigation is only one part of a broader probe into the operations of the NSA.

More reports are expected on other aspects of the National Service Secretariat’s projects, he added.

“For now, our focus is on recovery and justice—one conversation at a time,” he concluded.

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However, Dr. Srem Sai was quick to emphasize that this does not imply guilt.

“He said he’s been going to the NIB for a while now. Nobody knew until he said it publicly,” Dr. Srem Sai stated on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday night.

According to him, the investigations relate to various projects executed during Dr. Opoku Prempeh’s tenure at both the Energy and Education Ministries over the eight-year period of the Akufo-Addo administration.

When asked about the scope of the probe, he replied, “A number of things. He was a minister for Energy and Education, so definitely, we have projects that were undertaken during his time. And so he would definitely be answering questions in respect of that.”

One such project is the controversial procurement of mathematical sets during his time as Education Minister. But Dr. Srem Sai clarified that being invited for questioning does not amount to culpability.

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“We will succeed in terms of recovery,” he said confidently. “Because, first of all, plea bargaining used not to be part of our laws. Now it is.”

Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, Dr. Srem Sai was responding to a direct question from host Evans Mensah, who asked why Ghanaians should believe that the government’s new anti-corruption campaign, dubbed Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL), would succeed where previous efforts have failed.

“Almost every Attorney General has failed at this,” the host pointed out. “People go to jail when governments change, but when it comes to recovery, we’ve been abysmal. Why will this be different?”

Dr. Srem Sai responded without hesitation. “Now we have a legal framework for recoveries, and that includes voluntary recovery through plea bargaining,” he said. “It’s not just about jailing people. It’s about following the money—and taking it back.”

He revealed that beyond the plea bargaining provisions, the Attorney General’s Department has developed what he described as “a very sophisticated system of asset recovery.”

“These people use every legitimate means to trace assets,” he explained. “If you have an account in Ghana, we’ll know. If you have five accounts in five different banks, we’ll find out.”

Dr. Srem Sai gave insight into how the system works by referencing the ongoing case involving the former Signals Bureau boss, Kwabena Adu-Boahen.

“If you were in court today, you’d have seen the disclosures we filed—about 60 of them. They include bank statements and correspondences showing exactly how the money moved,” he said.

“Money is traceable. That’s the point. You’ll see someone moves money from this account at 2 p.m., and then it appears in the accused’s account at another bank by 3 p.m. Then a few hours later, the same amount shows up in a real estate company’s account. It’s like watching a movie. You follow the money, and the story tells itself.”

Dr. Srem Sai insisted that this is no longer about speculation or empty promises.

“Before, we didn’t have the tools. But now we do. The plea bargaining framework allows us to negotiate recoveries. And with asset tracing, the evidence is solid.”

While public scepticism remains after years of unfulfilled promises and high-profile prosecutions with little restitution to the state, the Deputy Attorney General believes the tide is turning.

“We’re not just punishing. We are recovering. And this time, we’re ready.”

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Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, Dr. Srem Sai dismissed claims that the government’s response to alleged corruption involving top political figures is slow or unresponsive.

“It’s not that it’s slow,” he said in response to public criticism. “It’s just that the public only gets to know when the person is maybe arrested, and there’s noise, or when the person is being taken to court.”

Dr. Srem Sai noted that he regularly receives messages and tags on social media from people demanding action, but explained that much of the work remains hidden by necessity.

“Look, the ladies and gentlemen in the investigative agencies — the Police, the NIB, EOCO, the Special Prosecutor — they are working extremely hard,” he said.

He described a scene of relentless behind-the-scenes activity, with investigators and prosecutors working late into the night to gather evidence, secure warrants, and build airtight cases.

“You see how I don’t sleep? I don’t think they sleep either,” he said. “Because at night, they are working. They are calling, asking for directives, applying for search warrants, freezing orders, arrest warrants — and all this happens at short notice.”

He stressed that legal processes often require confidentiality, particularly when evidence must be protected or suspects might flee.

“If you want a warrant to search a place, you cannot say you are going to give notice,” he explained. “All these things are going on.”

Dr. Srem Sai maintained that it is inaccurate to say the process is slow. “It’s actually not slow. It’s moving very quickly. The only thing is, not everything can be made public by law enforcement agents.”

He assured that the public will be updated when appropriate. “Those that we need to put out, we’ll put out. But trust me, if you knew what was going on…”

He hinted at ongoing action involving high-profile individuals. “Like I said of the former Education and Energy Minister and running mate of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia — he has seen it,” he said, without offering further details.

Dr. Srem Sai made it clear that a pipeline of prosecutions is being built.

“We are not sleeping. The process is not dormant. It is not dragging. It is active, deliberate, and lawful,” he declared.

In the face of growing public frustration, especially on social media, his message was firm: there is more going on than meets the eye.

“It’s not that nothing is happening,” he concluded. “It’s just that not everything can be made public

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The Deputy Attorney General, Alfred Tuah Yeboah has said the court cannot independently verify such details, adding he cannot confirm whether it is true or not.

In view of this, it was therefore the responsibility of the defence counsel to bring the condition before the court’s attention.

“On this issue about the pregnant person, whether she’s pregnant or not, it’s not something that I can confirm for now, but the law on these matters is very clear.

“Now, when someone is pregnant and she’s stood before a law court, and the court is considering whether to grant bail or not to grant bail, the lawyer of a certain accused person must make it known to the court that his client is pregnant and provide the evidence,” he said in an interview with Accra-based Citi News.

Vera, who is four months pregnant, was arrested during a Democracy Hub demonstration and subsequently remanded in custody for two weeks.

The incident has attracted mixed reactions from a section of Ghanaians amidst claims by Deputy Communications Director for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Jennifer Queen that it is false.

Jennifer Queen stated that, there was no evidence to suggest that any of the arrested individuals were pregnant at the time of their detention.

She also noted that the lawyers representing the accused have not informed the police of any pregnancy.

But Mr Yeboah has said he is disappointed in the lawyers over their failure to bring it up during the bail hearing as it could have influenced the court’s decision.

“So the court, considering the bail application, they want to look at that aspect of it. But the courts are also mandated by law. When they convict a female person, and it’s about to sentence the female, the court is mandated to inquire whether the female, that accused person, is pregnant. So when it comes to the grant of bail, the law does not mandate the judges to inquire, but when it comes to sentencing, that is where the judge prefers to do that.”

“On this particular case, I’ve checked with the attorneys who were in court yesterday, and from what we have been told, the issue of the pregnancy of an accused person never came up in court for the court’s consideration. And so if indeed one of the accused persons is pregnant, then the counsel for that accused person feels it is his duty to disclose that information to the court,” he said.

He insisted that, if there was any party to be blamed, it would be the lawyers.

“So if there’s any blame, I’d rather lay it on the doorsteps of the lawyer for that accused person and I’ve gone to the extent also to find out from the CID whether that information of pregnancy came to be a notice, whether that accused person disclosed to them that she was pregnant and there’s nothing from their end to that effect,” he added.

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On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and Richard Jakpa, the third accused, in the ambulance case. This 2:1 decision overturned a previous trial court order that required Dr Ato Forson and Jakpa to open their defense.

In a statement issued by the Attorney General shortly after the ruling, Godfred Dame indicated that his office “considers the decision of the Court of Appeal to be perverse in the quest for public accountability and the rule of law. The decision clearly is heavily against the weight of the cogent evidence led by the prosecution in substantiation of all the charges against the accused persons at the trial.”

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show, Mr Tuah-Yeboah said, “Any lawyer, for that matter, every litigant, has the right to criticize a judgment, but not the judge. So, this statement is in relation to the judgment so delivered “.

He said that a lawyer can criticize a judgment, calling it unreasonable, illogical, or perverse, but not criticize the court itself.

The Deputy Attorney General stated that the appeal they intend to seek aims to test whether the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal can withstand legal scrutiny.

“And so, in going to the Supreme Court, we are going to argue legally why we think the judgment cannot be supported having regard to the evidence on record, and if the Supreme Court agrees to that, it would mean that the judgment would be set aside for us to come back to the trial court for the matter to continue.”

Some lawyers have argued that an appeal at the Supreme Court is not likely to be successful.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in particular has told the AG that would be disgraced at the Supreme Court it he goes ahead with his appeal.

The contractor, Andrew Clocanas, reportedly died at his Airport Residential Apartment in October 2023. 

He was standing trial with former Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Collins Dauda, and three others over the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project. 

Speaking to the media, the deputy A-G explained that the contractor’s death would not affect the substance of the case, hence the trial would proceed. 

Court questions how Collins Dauda was able to travel outside Ghana while his passport was supposed to be in court custody 

Meanwhile when the case was called on Monday at the court presided over by Justice Dr Ernest Owusu-Dapaa, Collins Dauda was absent. 

Asked why his client was absent, Thaddeus Sory, told the court that Collins Duada had received an emergency invitation to attend a Pan-African conference in South Africa as part of parliamentary duties adding that his absence was not deliberate. 

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, wondered why the accused, whose passport has been deposited at the court registry as part of bail conditions, travelled without a passport. 

The court asked counsel how his client was able to travel without a passport but in his response, Mr Sory noted that he had filed an application for the accused to have access to his passport. 

“The notice came to him impromptu and he instructed us to make the application but apparently travel arrangements had been made and were required to leave before the hearing of the application,” he added. 

Counsel therefore, withdrew the application. 

The first prosecution witness, Rev Stephen Yaw Osei, the Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Works and Housing mounted the witness box on Monday [Nov 20, 2023]. 

He is expected to read his witness statement to the court and would be cross-examined on Tuesday (November 21).

Not guilty

Collins Dauda, who is also the National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Asutifi South in the Ahafo Region, is standing trial with his successor, Dr Kwaku Agyeman-Mensah; the Chief Director at the Ministry from 2009 to 2017, Alhaji Ziblim Yakubu and a director of RMS, the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) consultancy subcontractor, Nouvi Tetteh Angelo.

The accused persons, who are currently on bail, have pleaded not guilty to 72 counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state, misapplying public property, issuing false certificates and dishonestly causing loss to public property.

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