Key Points
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Lawyer questions contradictions in Ghana’s $7M cybersecurity case.
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Mahama says the system exists, Ayine insists it does not.
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Trial of Adu-Boahene centers on diverted funds and fraud.
NPP lawyer Kwesi Botchway Jnr is demanding answers after spotting contradictions in statements about Ghana’s $7 million cyber defence system.
In a Facebook post on September 11, 2025, he pointed out that former President John Mahama told the public that the National Signals Bureau (NSB) has new technology.
According to Mahama, the system can trace anyone through their IP address and will be used to track people who spread hate speech or incite violence online.
“The NSB now has the technology to find you wherever you are. We will trace your IP and deal with you under the law,” Mahama said.
Attorney-General gives a different account
But Attorney-General Dominic Ayine told a court that Ghana never received the system. He said records from the National Security Secretariat confirm that no such equipment ever reached state stores.
“Investigations show no cybersecurity system from the 2020 contract was received by the bureau, its successor NSB, or the government,” Ayine told the court.
The two different stories have fueled public confusion. Botchway asked bluntly: “Who is deceiving who? What is happening?”
Trial of Adu-Boahene continues
This issue is at the center of the trial of former Bureau of National Communications boss Kwabena Adu-Boahene, his wife, and two others. They are accused of diverting GH¢49 million meant for the cyber defence system.
Prosecutors claim Adu-Boahene and his wife created a company with a name similar to the bureau’s.
They say $1.7 million was paid to Israeli supplier ISC Holdings Ltd., but the rest was laundered through other firms and used to buy houses in Accra, Kumasi, and London.
The accused have pleaded not guilty. Charges include stealing, fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering. The High Court will rule on October 17 on an application to stop the trial.
