Eight individuals implicated in the ghost names scandal at the National Service Scheme (NSS), including three former officials of the National Service Authority (NSA), have initiated talks with the Attorney-General’s office for possible plea bargains.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Ayine, made this revelation during the Government Accountability Series at the Jubilee House on Monday, July 28.
Plea bargaining in Ghana allows accused persons to plead guilty in exchange for reduced charges or lighter sentences—often in return for cooperation with prosecutors.
He described the development as a breakthrough in the ongoing probe, which has exposed deep-seated financial malfeasance within the NSS.
“Persons, they are not coming to say hearsay, they’re not coming to give hearsay evidence. People who were involved, okay, and we are, I mean, in negotiations with them and their lawyers, as a precondition, I tell them, you bring back the money that we have calculated that you took yourself as a prosecution witness. That is the approach that we are using,” Dr. Ayine stated.
As part of the conditions for any plea agreement, the suspects must fully refund the amounts they allegedly embezzled and provide direct testimony, not hearsay, to support the state’s case.
The Attorney-General emphasized that the plea deal discussions are still ongoing and involve suspects from both the public sector and private vendors who are alleged to have benefited from the fraudulent ghost name scheme.
