Was former NSA boss Osei Assibey Antwi tortured while in detention at NIB?

The former Director-General of the National Service Authority (NSA), Osei Assibey Antwi, was arrested by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) on Friday, March 21, 2025.

This was after he voluntarily honoured the NIB’s invitation.

His detention, however, raised concerns about his treatment, as he was allegedly tortured and denied access to medical care.

According to a close family source, Antwi was brought to his residence in Accra on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at approximately 6:00 PM by four men believed to be operatives to conduct a search in his home.

Witnesses reported that he was wearing the same light-toned coffee brown kaftan he had on when he reported to the NIB office, now visibly stained with blood below the knee, an indication that he had suffered some level of torture.

Sources revealed that Assibey Antwi appeared pale and weak, allegedly due to being denied access to his prescribed medications.

The NSA has been at the center of controversy in recent months, with allegations of “ghost names” and payroll inflation surfacing in the media.

In a previous statement, Assibey Antwi denied these allegations, stating that the NSA operates with “transparency and accountability.”

However, the NIB’s investigation has uncovered widespread irregularities within the scheme, leading to Assibey Antwi’s arrest.

As part of the probe, two former Deputy DGs of the NSA, Gifty Oware Mensah, and Kwaku Ohene Djan, were earlier invited, detained and questioned over their roles in the alleged fraud.

The NIB’s investigation was launched following an exposé by The Fourth Estate, which revealed that millions of cedis had been lost to the scheme due to fraudulent activities.

Despite the NSA’s denials, the evidence suggests that the Authority’s system was compromised, allowing for the inclusion of “ghost names” and payroll inflation.

The NSA has implemented electronic measures, including facial verification and the use of the Ghana Card, to prevent fraud and eliminate ghost names.

However, these measures appear to have been insufficient, and the Authority’s reputation has been severely damaged as a result.

President John Mahama has directed that culprits of the National Service ghost names scandal be declared wanted and their assets frozen.

The investigation has also been backed by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), which has submitted a petition to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.