NSS Ghost Name Scandal: Court admits NSS-ADB agreement in case against Gifty Oware-Mensah

The Accra High Court has admitted into evidence a master agreement between the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the National Service Authority (NSA), which allegedly facilitated the transfer of GHS31 million of state funds into a private account linked to the embattled former Deputy Director of the NSA, Gifty Oware-Mensah.

According to court documents, the agreement, signed on March 5, 2024, enabled the transfer of the funds into an account belonging to Blocks of Life Consult, a company allegedly linked to Mrs Oware-Mensah.

The Head of Commercial Banking at ADB, Gilbert Sebe-Yeboah, on Monday identified a series of documents before the court as part of his evidence in the ongoing criminal trial.

Appearing before the court on May 18, 2026, and led in evidence by Principal State Attorney Dufie Prempeh, the witness, Gilbert Sebe-Yeboah tendered several documents to support the prosecution’s case.

The prosecution also submitted a pen drive containing documents, including a bank consumer flyer, an Excel file containing details of 5,890 national service personnel, and a document titled “NSS Facility Repayment Advice.”

The witness statement and accompanying exhibits were adopted as evidence-in-chief. The case has been adjourned to May 20, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination.

Mrs Oware-Mensah has been charged with allegedly causing financial loss to the state to the tune of over GHS31 million in connection with the National Service ghost names scandal.

She has pleaded not guilty to one count of stealing, two counts of willfully causing financial loss to the state, one count of using public office for profit, and one count of money laundering.

Dispute over master agreement

During cross-examination, defence counsel Mr Gary Nimako Marfo challenged the credibility of the witness’s earlier testimony regarding the master agreement.

Mr Marfo referred the witness to portions of his earlier statement in which he allegedly indicated that he had personally signed the agreement with the accused person.

“You told this court that your good self and Mrs Gifty Oware-Mensah signed a master agreement. Is that correct?” counsel asked.

“Yes, that is correct,” Mr Sebe-Yeboah responded.

Counsel then put it to the witness that he had not signed any agreement with Mrs Oware-Mensah.

“I did sign the agreement called the parties’ agreement [also known] as master agreement,” the witness replied.

Mr Marfo subsequently directed the witness to examine Exhibit F and confirm whether the signature on the document was his.

“No, I was part of this agreement,” the witness answered.

Counsel then suggested that the witness’s earlier testimony before the court on February 23, 2026, was false.

“My Lady, that statement was not false. I didn’t say I signed the document; I said I was part [of it],” Mr Sebe-Yeboah clarified.

Mr Marfo further argued that the witness merely acted as a witness to the agreement and did not sign on behalf of ADB.

“Yes, I stated clearly that I was a witness but did not sign on behalf of ADB,” the witness responded.

The defence counsel continued, “You said, ‘I have a master agreement signed by my good self and Mrs Oware Mensah signed for NSS.’ So, the testimony you gave deceived this court. Your own Exhibit F shows the signature on the document is not yours.”

In response, Mr Sebe-Yeboah maintained that his role as a witness still made him a party to the agreement.

“My Lady, I said I was a party and if you peruse the document before the signature section, the witness there, my understanding is that all parties are witnesses to such a document,” he said.

Mr Marfo then insisted that the witness’s role did not align with his earlier evidence-in-chief, where he allegedly suggested he had signed the agreement himself.

“I didn’t categorically say anything to give the effect that I had signed the document,” Mr Sebe-Yeboah replied.

The case has been adjourned to Wednesday, May 20, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination.

Background

The case against the former NSA executive follows a series of investigative stories published by The Fourth Estate in February 2025.

The investigations revealed how thousands of ghost names including fictitious or ineligible individuals such as toddlers, elderly persons, and people with no verifiable ties to tertiary institutions were allegedly inserted into the NSA database.

According to the investigations, the ghost names were recruited through manipulated posting schemes, causing the state to pay millions of cedis in allowances to non-existent national service personnel.

The reports also exposed serious failures in value-for-money safeguards, data integrity systems, and the credibility of the Centralized Service Management Platform (CSMP). Rather than preventing fraud, the digital platform was allegedly manipulated to bypass validation checks, generate fake student index numbers, and process payments to ineligible or entirely fictitious beneficiaries.

Following the exposé, the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice launched an independent investigation, drawing significantly on evidence and leads from The Fourth Estate’s reporting.

The Attorney-General’s probe reportedly confirmed widespread financial irregularities involving senior NSA officials and private-sector collaborators.

In October 2025, Attorney-General Dominic Ayine announced that the fraudulent schemes had led to the mismanagement and loss of more than GHS2.2 billion.

Criminal proceedings have since been initiated against key figures, including former NSA Executive Director Osei Assibey Antwi and Ms Oware-Mensah, who face multiple charges, including stealing, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.