1. Court Rejects Most Defence Requests in NSB Trial

The High Court in Accra has partially dismissed an application for further disclosures filed by the defence counsel in the ongoing National Signals Bureau (NSB) trial, citing the irrelevance of some requests and the unavailability of certain documents within the prosecution’s possession.

The motion was filed by Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, counsel for the first and second accused persons—Kwabena Adu-Boahen and his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng—as well as the fourth accused. Akyea sought the release of several key documents, including the bill of lading for a BMW 740D, port of entry evidence, vehicle clearance records, and a police docket related to the said vehicle.

According to Akyea, these documents were crucial in determining whether Mr Adu-Boahen had indeed imported a stolen vehicle, a central claim in the prosecution’s narrative. He argued that withholding such information would undermine the accused’s right to a fair defence.

Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem-Sai opposed the motion, stating that the prosecution did not possess the bill of lading and dismissed its relevance. He pointed out that Mr Adu-Boahen’s name was listed as both exporter and importer on the customs declaration, suggesting that the document in question was more likely in the custody of the accused himself.

“The bill of lading is not with the prosecution and has no bearing on the case beyond what the customs declaration already proves,” Dr Srem-Sai told the court.

Delivering his ruling, Justice John Eugene Nyante Nyadu upheld the prosecution’s position on the first three items of the motion. He noted that the required details had already been disclosed through a supplementary witness statement submitted by prosecution witness Frank Cromwell.

However, on the issue of the police docket, the judge acknowledged that while the Attorney General’s office did not possess the full document, the Police CID had shared limited extracts from their database. Consequently, the court ordered further action:

“This court orders the Ghana Police Service to directly provide all relevant information in their possession concerning the BMW 740D with chassis number J020CM11428 to the defence team,” Justice Nyante Nyadu ruled.

The case is scheduled to resume on 31 July 2025, for the hearing of another pending motion.