The Court of Appeal has dismissed an application filed by former National Signals Bureau Director-General, Kwabena Adu-Boahene, and two others seeking to halt proceedings in their ongoing criminal trial.
In a unanimous ruling delivered in Accra on Thursday, May 28, 2026, the three-member panel held that the applicants failed to establish exceptional circumstances necessary to justify a stay of proceedings at the High Court.
The panel, presided over by Justice Georgina Mensah-Datsa, with Justices George Buadi and Ayitey Armah-Tetteh concurring, ruled that criminal proceedings could continue while disclosure obligations are fulfilled simultaneously.
“We hold that compliance with the order of this Court for disclosure can be done concurrently with the case continuing,” the court stated.
According to the court, disclosure in criminal proceedings is a continuous process and should not automatically delay trial proceedings.
The appeal arose from a July 2025 ruling by the Accra High Court, which rejected an earlier request by the accused persons seeking additional documents and materials they considered necessary for their defence.
The appellants in the case include Mr. Adu-Boahene, his wife Angela Adjei-Boateng, and Advantage Solutions Limited.
Although the Court of Appeal refused to suspend the trial, it partly upheld the appeal by directing the prosecution to release some additional disclosures requested by the defence.
Among the orders issued was the release of missing pages from Advantage Solutions Limited’s UMB Bank account statements, as well as clarification from the immediate past National Security Coordinator regarding whether the GH¢49.1 million at the centre of the trial was intended solely for the importation of a cyber defence system.
However, the court declined broader requests involving National Security operational accounts and the identities of certain operatives.
The accused persons are facing multiple charges, including stealing, money laundering, conspiracy to steal, causing financial loss to the state, using public office for profit, and defrauding by false pretences.
According to the prosecution, Mr. Adu-Boahene allegedly transferred GH¢49.1 million from a National Security operations account into the account of a private company, BNC Communications Limited, for private use.
All accused persons have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Court of Appeal further reaffirmed that prosecutors have a legal obligation to disclose not only materials in their possession but also evidence obtainable from investigative agencies through reasonable diligence.
Despite granting limited disclosure requests, the court concluded that the application for stay of proceedings lacked merit and therefore dismissed it.
