Atta-Akyea Rejects AG’s Request for In-Camera Hearing in NSB Trial

The lead counsel for the former Director-General of the National Signal Bureau (NSB), Samuel Atta-Akyea, on Tuesday vehemently opposed a request by the Attorney General’s office for parts of the ongoing trial to be heard in camera.

Appearing before Justice John Eugene Nyadu Nyante at the High Court in Accra, Mr Atta-Akyea argued that previous in-camera hearings had failed to protect sensitive material from leaking into the public domain.

He cited a classified video earlier viewed privately by the parties but which later surfaced online, attracting commentary on social media and on-air discussions.

“My lord, at the instance of the Deputy Attorney General, we went in camera to watch some videos purportedly capturing this criminal trial. To our shock, what we watched became viral,” he told the court, insisting that another closed-door hearing would serve no purpose.

Justice Nyante, visibly concerned, noted that he had personally seen commentary on the leaked material online.

“Sometimes I go to social media… I watched Paul Adom-Otchere discussing all the proceedings,” he remarked.

But Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Dr Justice Srem Sai defended the renewed request for in-camera proceedings.

He explained that the material in question contained “very personal information” about the prosecution witness, Edith Ruby Opokua Adumuah particularly details of private assets, which should not be publicly disclosed.

Dr Srem Sai referred the court to earlier proceedings on November 12, where a question about the witness’s property was disallowed on grounds of privacy.

He invoked Article 18(2) of the Constitution, which protects individuals against unlawful interference with privacy.

“The prayer we are making is simply to invite my lord to consider the content of the said document and balance it with other relevant considerations,” he stated. “If my lord thinks it should be revealed, we will be bound by that decision.”

Mr Atta-Akyea rebutted that once a witness elects to testify in a criminal matter, their testimony “cannot be on their own terms.”

He argued that the issues of property ownership had already surfaced in open court and that the defence did not require the witness’s list of assets, as suggested by the DAG.

Instead, he said the defence merely needed an audio recording that the prosecution insisted it did not possess.

With the disagreement unresolved, Justice Nyante directed the defence to proceed with the ongoing cross-examination of the prosecution’s second witness, a senior NSB officer.

Cross-Examination Highlights

During cross-examination, the witness confirmed submitting caution statements to EOCO in 2025 during investigations into alleged financial loss, tax fraud, defrauding by false pretence and money laundering.

When pressed on whether she was under criminal investigation at the time, she maintained she had only gone to assist EOCO based on instructions from her Director-General, though she admitted consulting lawyer Rosenberg Owusu before giving her statement.

Mr Atta-Akyea challenged her role as a representative of the NSB in the investigation, insisting she lacked proper authorization from the National Security Council Secretariat.

He suggested that she had introduced a memo—unknown to earlier proceedings—to bolster her claim of authorization.

The witness disagreed, insisting she acted on the instructions of her superiors at the NSB and had sworn the necessary oaths of secrecy, allegiance and office.

The defence further suggested that NSB never submitted a petition or complaint to EOCO, questioning the basis of her involvement.

The witness responded that she was acting on the directions of her Director-General and was unaware of the origin of the matter.

Attempts by the defence to catalogue documents allegedly ferried by the witness from NSB to EOCO were met with a vigorous objection by the DAG, who accused the defence of embarking on a “fishing expedition.” The objection was overruled.

Cross-examination is expected to continue at the next today, December 10, 2025.

 

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