By Issah Olegor
Fresh controversy has erupted around the handling of high-profile corruption cases after Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, publicly rejected a partial refund proposal linked to the National Service Authority (NSA) ghost names scandal, even as his office previously accepted restitution arrangements in other major financial crime cases, including that involving former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffour, under the former National Democratic Congress government.
The latest disclosure, made by Dr. Ayine at the Government Accountability Series press briefing in Accra on December 22, 2025, has reignited debate over consistency, fairness, and prosecutorial discretion in the anti-corruption drive.
NSA scandal And Rejected Refund Offer
According to the Attorney-General, one of the accused persons in the sprawling NSA payroll fraud case—widely linked to former Deputy Director General, Gifty Oware-Mensah—offered to refund GH¢22 million out of an alleged GH¢38 million loss to the state.
The proposal, however, was tied to a condition that the suspect would avoid full criminal prosecution.
Ayine said his office flatly rejected the offer, insisting that repayment alone cannot substitute criminal accountability, particularly in cases involving large-scale abuse of public funds.
“Yes, offers keep being made, but sometimes the offers are made conditional on people bringing their money and walking away, and I say no,” the Attorney-General told journalists.
He stressed that while the legal framework allows for plea bargaining and restitution, such processes must not undermine the criminal justice system or create the impression that accused persons can simply pay their way out of prosecution.
NSA Ghost Names Scandal
The NSA scandal, which broke into the public domain in late 2024, is considered one of the largest payroll frauds in the public sector history.
Investigations by the Auditor-General, the Attorney-General’s Department, and other state agencies uncovered tens of thousands of “ghost names” on the National Service payroll.
Initial estimates put the loss at hundreds of millions of cedis, but subsequent forensic audits suggested that the total financial exposure could run into billions of cedis, deepening public outrage and calls for accountability.
Gifty Oware-Mensah, a former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority, has since been arrested and charged with multiple offences, including stealing, willfully causing financial loss to the state, money laundering, and using public office for profit.
She was granted GH¢10 million bail with stringent conditions, which she reportedly struggled to meet, leading to extended periods in custody.
On KSM Show, Kwame Asare Obeng Aka A Plus said he only took money from Gifty Oware-Mensah to give a platform to defend herself.
Contrast With Duffour Case Fuels Criticism
The Attorney-General’s hardline stance in the NSA matter has been sharply contrasted with his earlier decision to discontinue prosecution in the high-profile UniBank/financial sector clean-up case involving Dr. Kwabena Duffour and seven others.
In that case, the AG entered a nolle prosequi, citing substantial recovery of funds—reportedly meeting a newly introduced “60% recovery threshold”—as justification for dropping the charges in what he described as the “national interest.”
That decision triggered a strong backlash from the Minority in Parliament, civil society groups, and sections of the legal community, who questioned the legal basis, transparency, and consistency of the Attorney-General’s approach.
The Minority member on Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, warned at the time that the Duffour decision set a “dangerous precedent” by allowing accused persons in major financial crimes to escape prosecution without court-supervised plea bargains or convictions.
Legal justification And AG’s Defence
Dr. Ayine has defended his actions by drawing a distinction between voluntary restitution within a structured legal framework and refund offers designed to short-circuit criminal trials.
“I am the Attorney-General. I am the prosecutor. I am not defence counsel,” he said, insisting that it is his duty to present evidence before the courts and secure convictions beyond reasonable doubt.
He further clarified that while accused persons are free to initiate plea bargains—by pleading guilty, offering restitution, or agreeing to lesser charges—such initiatives must come from the defence, not the prosecution.
“If they want to shorten the process through plea bargaining, it is left to them. I will not advise them, and I will not be the one to provide that advice,” he added.
Growing Public debate Over Consistency
Despite these explanations, critics argue that the different outcomes in the NSS and Duffour cases have deepened public suspicion of selective justice. Questions continue to be raised about why partial repayment was deemed unacceptable in one case, while significant recoveries in another led to the complete discontinuation of criminal proceedings.
