Renowned legal scholar Prof Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua has reacted to the threat by Samuel Atta Akyea, the lawyer for embattled former Director-General of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Kwabena Adu-Boahene, that his client could reveal national security secrets if his ongoing criminal prosecution continues.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews on 5 May 2025, Prof Appiagyei-Atua, an Associate Professor at the University of Ghana School of Law, indicated that Atta Akyea should know that divulging national security secrets is a crime.

He asserted that while Adu-Boahene’s testimony has national security implications, there is a process to follow, which Atta Akyea knows about.

“I’m not sure the law allows anybody to say anything at all when it regards national security issues. There are particular laws that should apply when it becomes necessary. Of course, you have to balance the due process rights of the accused person or the defendant in the case with the larger interests of society – in which context we’re talking about national security.

“And so the law or the court should make sure that the rights of the accused person are not compromised simply in the name of national security. At the same time, the law doesn’t lie in the hands of the defendant who used to work for the National Security Agency and the fact that he holds some important national security information to release it, because even the person may have sworn an oath to keep certain information secret in the name of national security or in the name of the State,” he said.

He added, “And the law is also clear that when it comes to certain situations, it is up to the Minister for the Interior to authorise a release of certain information to certain ministries or to the courts and so on. So it doesn’t lie in the hands of the defendant to simply say that I have national security information.”

Prof Appiagyei-Atua further stated that the supposed national security secrets cannot be disclosed in court, reiterating that the lawyer of the former NSB Director-General should know the processes to follow if the issues his client has to disclose relate to the country’s national security.

He said that Adu-Boahene will be putting himself in more trouble if he discloses national security information without going through the proper procedures.

“If the defendant wants to disclose such information, they may approach the bench, and the bench may decide whether that information could be disclosed or otherwise,” he said.

He pointed out that disclosing national security information “could amount to a breach, and then it becomes a criminal act.”

“And so in that situation, it will provide another basis for the prosecution to maybe prefer other charges against him,” he added.

Watch the interview below:

Former NSB Boss Case: The law does not permit just anyone to say whatever they like when it comes to national security matters — Prof. Appiagyei-Atua.#JoyNews pic.twitter.com/eWWxwh4HkB

— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) May 14, 2025