The OSP has not put Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Akore on stop list

Critics say the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) slept on the job and allowed Ken Ofori-Atta to leave the country before he was declared wanted. Apart from Ken Ofori-Atta, another accused person in the SML scandal who is also at large is Ernest Darko Akore. The Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has said that, in the Akufo-Addo administration, the OSP was powerless because Ken Ofori-Atta’s cousin, Nana Akufo-Addo, was president.

I have observed some misinformation concerning some of the topical issues and want to put out facts to guide the public discourse. Some of these are facts that are known to me because I led the SML investigation and petitioned the OSP after our investigation. As an investigative journalist, I have also actively sought some of the information to help us have meaningful conversations.

In the first of this series, I will address the issue of whether or not any attempt has ever been made to stop Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Akore from leaving Ghana or arrest them should they attempt to sneak in.

I have run checks with my sources in security services in the past and current administrations—specifically the Ghana Immigration Service, the National Security and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), formerly BNI. I have also cross-checked with my sources at the OSP. And here are the facts I gathered.

1. Stop List: If the state wants to stop a person of interest or suspect from leaving Ghana, that person is put on the stop list. The institution wanting to stop the person, according to my sources, often writes to the National Security Secretariat. The National Security Secretariat would then write to the Ghana Immigration Service and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), formerly BNI. Even when the NIB knows that the Immigration Service has been written to or copied, it still officially writes to the Immigration Service. Sometimes, the institution seeking the stop order writes to the Immigration Service directly.
2. If the suspect or person of interest attempts to leave the country or arrives from abroad, officers of the Ghana Immigration Service would stop the person and hand him or her over to the NIB until the institution that requested the stop order is called in. It’s a collaborative effort, the primary contact with the wanted persons being the Ghana Immigration Service, which mans the country’s entry and exit points.
3. So, was there a stop order to prevent Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Akore from leaving the country?
4. In the previous administration, the OSP did not request that any of the security agencies or the Immigration Service put Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Akore on the stop list.
5. The OSP has confirmed this and explained that it didn’t trust that the institutions would cooperate with such a request.
6. In the current administration, which the OSP has said is cooperating with its work, the OSP has not written to request that Ken Ofori-Atta or Ernest Akore be put on a stop list.
7. According to my Immigration and other security sources, this means Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Akore will not be stopped should they be seen entering or leaving Ghana.
8. My sources at the OSP have explained that Ken Ofori-Atta and Ernest Akore’s is a special case. They explained that these days, airlines send manifests ahead of flights, so a person of interest can be seen from that list and arrangements made to stop him or her even before the person gets to the Immigration desk. They didn’t say who would act on a manifest, since the Immigration, NIB, or National Security has not been written to stop the two.
9. My sources in the security services have, however, questioned this, saying some airlines send their manifests late, and by the time they are received and worked on, the person may have slipped in.
10. They also say stop lists are not enforced only at the airports. Stop lists are also shared with Immigration officials at all the entry and exit points into the country, including land borders and sea ports, so that those who want to sneak in and use the airport can still be picked up. This means even if the OSP keeps its eyes on the airport, a suspect can slip in and out through the land borders or seaports.
11. A senior official conversant with stop lists said that Immigration officials at the points of entry have been warned not to stop anybody from travelling unless the person has officially been put on the list. The source said, “If you prevent someone from travelling, and he’s not on the stop-list, he can sue you. We have had such experiences in the past, so we have warned all our officers. If someone says he or she is travelling to see their doctor the following day and you stop them without any orders, you can get into trouble.”
12. Ken Ofori-Atta is well known, so it may be difficult for him to sneak into Ghana without being spotted and reported to law enforcement agencies. But if Ernest Akore walks through the airport or through the Aflao border, chances are that he can come in and go out of Ghana without being picked up, because the Immigration Service has no order or request from the OSP to stop him. This is what the security authorities have told me.
13. My sources in the security agencies say if Ken Ofori-Atta, Ernest Akore or any of the accused persons in the SML case sneaks in or out and they are not picked up, their outfits cannot be blamed because the OSP has not asked them to stop anybody, even though the OSP is seeking the help of Interpol to arrest Ken Ofori-Atta.
14. My investigation has also revealed that Ken Ofori-Atta, whose date of birth is November 7, 1959, left Ghana on January 4, 2025. He departed from Terminal 3 of Kotoka International Airport and travelled on United Airlines Flight 997 to Washington, D.C., in the United States.
15. Ken Ofori-Atta travelled on a Ghanaian passport and has valid visas to the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
16. Ken Ofori-Atta’s U.S. visa will expire on February 14, 2026, about three months from now. His UK Visa will expire on April 21, 2032, and his Canadian visa will expire on May 31, 2031.
17. Ernest Darko Akore, born on February 5, 1958, left Ghana on November 19, 2024. He travelled to New York on Delta Airlines Flight 156. He departed through Terminal 3 of the Kotoka International Airport.
18. Ernest Darko Akore travelled on a ten-year U.S. passport, which expires on August 4, 2031.

In the next episode, I will answer the question of whether the OSP made any efforts on the SML investigations despite the challenges, or it folded its arms and only started a frantic chase after Ken Ofori-Atta left the country. It is my hope that these facts will help to put the discussions in perspective as we seek accountability from those who have misused or looted public funds and those tasked with the power of the state to seek accountability on our behalf.

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