…Godfred Dame, others created credibility gaps around Sedina Tamakloe’s prosecution
The Herald has uncovered fresh details from the trial of the former Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) Chief Executive Officer, Christine Sedina Tamakloe Attionu, revealing that state prosecutors, led by the then-Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, relied on a man who was himself facing criminal charges and whose credibility had been seriously challenged.
Seth Nana Obugyei Asiedu, who was the state’s third prosecution witness at the time he testified against Mrs Attionu, was himself standing criminal trial after being implicated in a massive fraud at the National Service Scheme (NSS) Secretariat.
He had been charged with allegedly conniving with others to steal more than GH¢107 million belonging to the state.
Mr Obugyei had served as Greater Accra Regional Director of the NSS and was on interdiction, along with about 35 top-level officers of the Scheme, including Alhaji Imoro Alhassan, the Executive Director accused of involvement in the first NSS ‘ghost names’ scandal.
Mr Obugyei was being prosecuted by the same state in the NSS case for allegedly depriving the state of the colossal sum.
Interestingly, Mr Obugyei, who is the owner and Board Chairman of Obaatanpa Microfinance in Ejura, claimed during the MASLOC trial that he handed over a ‘Ghana Must Go’ bag loaded with GH¢500,000 to the former MASLOC boss at the Batsonaa Total Filling Station, Accra, in the middle of the night.
He claimed that, while he was with Samuel Quansah, the former MASLOC boss appeared alone and took away the money in her Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
According to Mr Obugyei, the cash represented a loan MASLOC had granted to Obaatanpa Microfinance by way of a cheque. He said he had withdrawn the money from Amantin and Kasei Community Bank and returned it to Mrs Attionu in cash upon persistent pressure from her.
Mr Quansah, the second prosecution witness, had also claimed in his testimony dated November 25, 2019, that he was with Mr Obugyei when the money was allegedly delivered at night. However, he told the court that he did not get out of the vehicle but only saw and recognized Mrs Attionu through the rear-view mirror of the car in which they had travelled from Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
It is not clear what arrangement, if any, Mr Obugyei had reached with the state prosecutors before appearing in court as a prosecution witness. However, the prosecution ought to have been aware that relying on a witness whose credibility could be heavily challenged had the potential to undermine its case.
Mr Obugyei and Mr Quansah had identified themselves as non-executive directors of Obaatanpa Microfinance and were not involved in its day-to-day administration.
Mr Obugyei, former Greater Accra Regional Director of the NSS, was standing trial for allegedly stealing GH¢18 million in the NSS case.
Both men are residents of Accra and were not part of the officers responsible for the day-to-day operations of Obaatanpa Microfinance in Ejura.
Strangely, no official of Obaatanpa Microfinance involved in its day-to-day administration, such as the Managing Director, was called by the prosecution during the trial to corroborate the testimonies of Mr Obugyei and Mr Quansah.
Again, no official from Amantin and Kasei Community Bank was called by the prosecution to confirm the alleged withdrawal of GH¢500,000, which was said to have been handed over to Mrs Attionu, who was convicted in absentia by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Court of Appeal Judge, who presided over the case also involving one Daniel Axim, a former Chief Operating Officer of MASLOC.
Mrs Attionu has denied meeting the two men and receiving any such amount from them.
Court extracts dated Janaury, 8, 2020, obtained by The Herald show that Mr Obugyei was subjected to intense cross-examination by Agbesi Kwadzo Dzakpasu, counsel for Mrs Attionu, including questions relating to his own criminal trial in the NSS case.
Under cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that he was facing criminal charges, including stealing, in connection with a separate NSS case.
According to Mr Obugyei, former Domeabra-Obom Member of Parliament, Sophia Karen Edem Ackuaku, who was Deputy Executive Director of the NSS when the ghost-names scandal broke, introduced him to Mrs Attionu at the Golden Tulip Hotel.
He told the court that Ms Ackuaku introduced Mrs Attionu as the Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC and explained that the organization supported financial institutions with loans.
Mr Obugyei said that following that meeting, he applied for a GH¢150,000 loan from Obaatanpa Microfinance, and that the loan was approved within a month.
He told the court that the matter, which was being handled by the then Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), remained pending before Financial Court 1.
The BNI had investigated the GH¢107 million Ghost Names fraud between 2013 and 2014.
Asked whether one of the charges against him was stealing, Mr Obugyei replied: “Yes, my lady.”
He was further asked how much he was alleged to have stolen.
“I do not know the amount involved,” he replied.
When asked about the status of the case, he said, “It is still in court.”
The witness confirmed that he had served as Greater Accra Regional Director of the NSS for between three and four years before leaving the organization.
In his evidence-in-chief led by Stella Ohene Appiah, Mr Obugyei alleged that Mrs Attionu had met him at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra and introduced herself as the Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, explaining that the institution provided loans to financial institutions.
According to him, he subsequently applied for a GH¢150,000 loan from Obaatanpa Microfinance, which was approved.
He said that, subsequently, Mrs. Attionui informed him that MASLOC wanted to make an investment with the microfinance company and that a cheque for GH¢500,000 had been approved.
Because he was travelling, he said, he sent Samuel Quansah, another prosecution witness, to collect the cheque and deliver it to the microfinance company at Ejura.
Mr Obugyei told the court that the company later objected to the interest rate attached to the transaction and decided to return the cheque.
He alleged that after he contacted Mrs Attionu, she instructed them to bring the money in cash because MASLOC was experiencing difficulties clearing some cheques.
According to his testimony, the company mobilized the GH¢500,000 from Amantin and Kasei Community Bank in the Bono East Region and transported the money to Accra in a “Ghana Must Go” bag.
He said that after arriving in Accra, he contacted Mrs Attionu because he was concerned about keeping such a large amount of cash at his home.
He alleged that they eventually met at the Baatsonaa Total Filling Station, where Mrs Attionu parked behind his vehicle.
Mr Obugyei claimed that he took the cash from the back seat of his vehicle and placed it in the back seat of Mrs Attionu’s Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
He said he then sat in the front passenger seat of her vehicle and informed her that the money amounted to GH¢500,000.
According to him, the two spoke for about three to five minutes before parting ways.
Mrs Attionuhas denied meeting the witness and receiving the alleged GH¢500,000.
No Receipt Produced at Time of Alleged Payment
During his examination-in-chief, Mr Obugyei said he subsequently contacted Mrs Attionu to request a receipt for the payment.
He claimed that, after several days, she informed him that the receipt could be collected from her office and that he sent Mr Quansah to collect it.
He said he later saw the receipt that Mr Quansah brought from MASLOC, which was admitted as evidence as an exhibit.
The witness also told the court that, between January and July 2015, Obaatanpa Microfinance received about five demand notices from MASLOC for payment of the GH¢500,000.
He said he contacted Mrs Attionu, who allegedly described the demands as an oversight and assured him that the matter would be rectified.
According to him, the demand notices stopped until 2017, when he was contacted by a MASLOC official who claimed that the GH¢500,000 remained outstanding.
He said the matter was subsequently referred to the Serious Fraud Office and later to the EOCO, where he provided documents relating to the transaction.
However, Mr Dzakpasu’s cross-examination focused heavily on the witness’ own criminal proceedings and the evidential basis for his account of the alleged cash payment.
Counsel established that the BNI had begun investigating Mr Obugyei in relation to alleged stealing around 2014, before the alleged GH¢500,000 transaction with MASLOC.
The witness said he was first invited by the BNI around September 2014, while he was in Israel.
He also told the court that he was interdicted by the NSS between March and May 2015.
Counsel then put it to him that the criminal investigation and his alleged involvement in the NSS case predated the MASLOC transaction.
Mr Obugyei disputed some of the suggestions but confirmed that the NSS case was still pending.
The witness also faced questions over how the alleged GH¢500,000 was mobilized.
Although he testified that the money was withdrawn from Amantin and Kasei Community Bank, he admitted that he did not know precisely how the withdrawals were made.
Asked whether the money was withdrawn in two instalments over two days, he responded: “I think it was withdrawn from Amantin and Kasei in two instalments on two days or so.”
Counsel suggested that the manager of the microfinance company would have been in a better position to give categorical evidence about the withdrawals.
Mr Obugyei, however, insisted that his role was to take the money to Mrs Attionu personally.
Counsel also questioned why the witness, who maintained that he was concerned about the security of carrying GH¢500,000 in cash to Accra, did not deposit the money into his own GCB Bank account and withdraw it in Accra.
Mr Obugyei agreed that this was an option but maintained that Mrs Attionu had instructed them to bring the money in cash.
Further questions were raised about the documentary evidence supporting the alleged payment.
Mr Obugyei told the court that he had provided documents to EOCO, including bank statements.
However, when asked whether he had submitted original copies of all the relevant documents, he said he could not say exactly which were originals.
He also acknowledged that he could not find his own copy of some letters and the alleged acknowledgement of receipt, and had instead made photocopies from documents belonging to Mr Quansah.
Counsel further pointed out that some details contained in Mr Obugyei’s oral testimony, including the denominations of the alleged GH¢500,000 cash payment, did not appear in his earlier statements.
The witness admitted that the denominations were not contained in his earlier statement.
He explained that the matter had taken a long time and that he had not anticipated that the money would not be paid to the appropriate quarters.
In court, Mr Obugyei claimed that the GH¢500,000 comprised GH¢200,000 in GH¢50 notes, GH¢200,000 in GH¢20 notes and GH¢100,000 in GH¢10 notes.
He said he had written the denominations on a piece of paper for Mrs Attionu.
Under cross-examination, however, counsel questioned why a witness who claimed to have handed over GH¢500,000 to a senior public official had allegedly recorded the denominations but had not obtained an acknowledgement of receipt at the time.
Mr Obugyei responded that they had expected an official receipt, which he said Mrs Attionu had promised to provide.
The cross-examination also highlighted the witness’ reliance on telephone conversations and information allegedly provided by other persons concerning the transaction.
Asked whether the evidence before the court largely centred on telephone calls, Mr Obugyei disagreed that this was entirely the case.
The questioning eventually established that the criminal case involving Mr Obugyei was titled The Republic v Alhaji Imoro Alhassan and was pending before Financial Court 1.
The witness had previously been implicated alongside other NSS officials in allegations involving the scheme, with the prosecution alleging financial losses to the State.
His involvement in that case became a significant feature of the cross-examination in the MASLOC trial, as defense counsel sought to test his credibility and the reliability of his evidence against Mrs Attionu.
The defense maintains that Mrs Attionu did not meet Mr Obugyei and Mr Quansah at the Baatsonaa Total Filling Station and did not receive the alleged GH¢500,000 from them.
The testimony and cross-examination form part of the evidence recorded in the long-running criminal proceedings against the former MASLOC boss.
The Court of Appeal on July 30, 2026, unanimously overturned the conviction and 10-year custodial sentence imposed on Mrs Attionu, acquitting and discharging her of all charges.
The three-member panel, Justice Emmanuel Ankamah, Justice Emmanuel Senyo Amedahe, and Justice Samuel Obeng-Diawuo, held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In delivering its decision on Thursday, the Court of Appeal criticized the approach adopted by the trial, stating that the learned trial judge had lost sight of the constitutional principle that every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The appellate court further observed that the prosecution conducted the case improperly and concluded that the evidence presented fell short of the legal standard required to sustain the convictions.
