An old photo of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (L) shaking hands with Wontumi (R)
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Chairman Wontumi), is currently under investigation by the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) and the Economic and Organised Crime (EOCO) for allegedly engaging in some crimes, including illegally mining in a forest reserve.
He was arrested after he was invited by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to answer to allegations levelled against him on May 27, 2025.
His arrest comes after the government revoked the mining licence of his mining company, Akonta Mining Limited, over illegal operations.
According to the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, a joint operation by the Ghana Police Service and the Forestry Commission led to the discovery of six illegal mining sites linked to Akonta Mining in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve in South-Western Region of Ghana.
It would be recalled that in January 2023, the then Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, announced that Akonta Mining was involved in illegality in the Tano Nimiri Forest Reserve.
The equipment and structures of Akonta Mining in the forest reserve were destroyed, and the then-Akufo-Addo government opened an investigation into the activities of the company in the forest.
However, before the investigation could commence, then-president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cleared the company of any wrongdoing.
Akufo-Addo said that Wontumi’s company was not engaged in illegal mining anywhere in the country, at a gathering on January 4, 2023, when calls for the arrest of the NPP regional chairman were reiterated by Ken Ashigbey, the convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey.
“Let me respond briefly to the chairperson on the issue of illegal mining. I want to assure him and all of you that Akonta Mining is not engaged in any illegal mining anywhere in Ghana as we speak.
“Further, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has, through the agency of the Forestry Commission, with the assistance of the military, made the effort to cordon off all 294 sites of forest reserves in the country and rid them of illegal mining as we speak,” he said.
Watch a video of Akufo-Addo’s remarks below:
BAI/VPO
Watch the latest news in Twi on GhanaWeb TV: