Court adjourns NSS scandal hearing, orders prosecution to serve accused persons

The Accra High Court has adjourned proceedings in the high-profile case involving former Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware-Mensah, and former Director-General Osei Assibey Antwi, after both failed to appear before the court on Friday, October 17, 2025.

Prosecutors informed the court that Mrs. Oware-Mensah had submitted a medical excuse covering two days, which prevented her from attending Friday’s sitting.

Defence counsel for Mr. Assibey Antwi also told the court that his client had been summoned by police investigators in Kumasi and was therefore unable to be present.

The lawyer further disclosed that the defence team had not yet been served with the formal charge sheet, adding that this procedural delay made it difficult for them to proceed substantively.

Presiding over the matter, the trial judge granted the request for adjournment and directed that the accused persons and their legal representatives be properly served ahead of the next sitting. The case has been adjourned to a date yet to be announced.

The National Service Scheme (NSS) is currently at the centre of one of the largest alleged financial scandals in its history. Investigators have accused Mrs. Gifty Oware-Mensah and Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi of presiding over a GH¢653 million fraud scheme, primarily involving the payment of allowances to thousands of non-existent service personnel, popularly known as “ghost names.”

According to preliminary audit findings, while the NSS payroll reflected over 180,000 personnel nationwide, only about 98,000 were verified as legitimate during a nationwide headcount. The remainder—more than 80,000 names—were allegedly fictitious entries used to siphon state funds.

Beyond the main payroll case, Mrs. Oware-Mensah is also facing a separate criminal inquiry over a GH¢30.7 million loan facility allegedly obtained under false pretences from the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB).

Investigators claim she registered a private company and used allowances of national service personnel as collateral to secure the loan without proper authorisation.

Both cases are being pursued under Ghana’s Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30) and the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).

The Attorney-General’s Department is expected to file the complete charge sheet and witness list before the next hearing. Legal analysts say the prosecution’s case will likely hinge on forensic payroll audits, bank transaction records, and testimony from service personnel verification officers across the regions.