Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons
Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons, has described the justification given by former National Signals Bureau (NSB) Director-General, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, for spending GH¢1 million on spyware as unreasonable.
He argued that the misappropriation of funds by Adu-Boahene should not be tolerated, as it undermines the country’s national security system.
Speaking on Joy News’ File on Saturday, May 10, 2025, Bright Simons said; “If it is necessary to spy on people because some of them are terrorists, some are criminals etc and we decided to buy it and we allocated $7million, you cannot allocate one point something million dollars to the company, refuse to pay the rest, and so therefore the country is denied the benefit of the transaction and for over four years, claims to have diverted the money for other purposes without any trail.”
Bright Simons added that such actions violate financial laws and are not a justifiable explanation.
“This cannot happen under our financial regulations, and it is not even a reasonable explanation to give,” he stated.
Background
Adu-Boahene, who faces 11 charges, including stealing, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the state, has strongly denied any misconduct.
He insists that all expenditures during his tenure were lawful and aligned with national security interests.
The accused persons include Advantage Solutions Limited and a banker, Mildred Donkor.
The charges filed against the accused persons included: stealing, contrary to Section 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29); conspiracy to steal, contrary to Sections 23(1) and 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960; and defrauding by false pretences, contrary to Section 131(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
Some of the other charges against them are: wilfully causing financial loss to the state, contrary to Section 179A(3)(a) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29); using public office for profit, contrary to Section 179C(a) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29); and collaboration to commit a crime, to wit, using public office for profit, contrary to Section 179C(b) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
GhanaWeb Feature by Ernestina Serwaa Asante
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