More questions are being raised about the propriety of the Ninja and Rambo-style raid of the residence of the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison even though government officials have officially sanctioned the invasion as lawful.
A Senior Law lecturer at the University of Ghana (UG), Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, has challenged the legality of the search conducted on the former Governor’s residence.
He argued that the manner in which the search was carried out raised critical legal and ethical questions that must be addressed to ensure accountability and transparency in law enforcement procedures.
The raid of Dr. Addison’s Roman Ridge Residence, which took place on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, was carried out by security operatives led by Richard Jakpa, Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat.
In defence of the operation, the Deputy Attorney General, Justice Srem-Sai, stated that the search was conducted lawfully, in accordance with Ghanaian legal provisions regarding searches and seizures.
According to him, the authorities involved search had followed the necessary legal framework, and therefore, there was no cause for alarm.
However, speaking on The Big Issue on Channel One TV on Saturday, Prof. Appiagyei-Atua disagreed with this defence, arguing that the legality of the operation could not simply be taken at face value without further clarification.
He insisted that the Deputy Attorney General had a duty to provide a more detailed explanation of the legal basis for the search, including the exact process by which authorisation was obtained.
“The Deputy Attorney General would have done us a lot of good by confirming how the legality of the searches came about. If he went to a particular magistrate court to secure the search warrant because if he is talking about the legality of the search that happened at the former Bank of Ghana Governor’s home, one of the key legal requirement will be obtaining the search warrant from a court and if that is established, then what is the scope of the search warrant?
“The processes involved should also be transparent because we have seen accusations of theft and misdemeanours committed by the team that went to conduct the search and the whole issue about the CCTV equipment being taken away. That is also a big issue.”
Ofori-Atta’s house raided
It would be recalled that the residence of former Minister for Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta was also raided in a similar fashion by the national security operatives led by the same Richard Jakpa in February this year.
Richard Jakpa led group of 12 individuals with some in military and police uniforms to raid the residence of the former Finance Minister.
The incident occurred in Mr. Ofori-Atta’s Cantonments residence while he was out of the country seeking medical attention.
However, some family members, including his wife, were present at the time.
Mr. Ofori-Atta who had been in the U.S. on medical grounds since the beginning of 2025, notified the Chief of Staff before leaving the country and yet his house was violently raided.
