Suspect arrested in illegal sale of Ghana High Commission property in Nigeria for US$1.5m
Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced the arrest
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced the arrest of Bright Mensah Bonsu, a man accused of illegally selling a property of the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria.
According to Ablakwa, Mensah Bonsu, who was a special aide to former Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, the late Alhaji Rashid Bawa, received US$1.5 million and signed fake documents in a transaction.
He said that the US$1.5 million was paid into the accounts of Mensah Bonsu and the transaction was not documented by the mission.
“It is important to emphasise that the US$1.5 million cash was not paid into government accounts, neither is there any record at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the cash was officially declared.
“Documents reveal that Bright Mensah Bonsu and his collaborators had valued the prime Lagos beachfront diplomatic property at US$5.3 million and considered the US$1.5 million payment as the first instalment. The outcome of the 2024 Election must have thwarted their plans,” the minister wrote in a post shared on X on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
Ablakwa, who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, also disclosed that the accused person is also a suspect in the issuance of a diplomatic passport.
“Bright Mensah Bonsu was not a staff member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria, even though he was often seen in the company of the High Commissioner.
“As we await criminal prosecution shortly, it would be interesting to see how Mr Mensah Bonsu backs his claims that he acted on the instructions of his superiors, and that those superiors gave him access to documents on the diplomatic property,” he said.
