THE REPUBLIC vs EUGENE BAFFOE BONNIE, MATTHEW WILLIAM TETTEH TEVIE, DR. OWUSU ENSAW, ALHAJI SALIFU MIMINA OSMAN AND GEORGE DEREK OPPONG [2020]DLHC8774

THE REPUBLIC vs EUGENE BAFFOE BONNIE, MATTHEW WILLIAM TETTEH TEVIE, DR. OWUSU EN... [2020]DLHC8774

Date	2020-05-12
Suit No.	SUIT NO. CR/904/2017
Citation No.	[2020]DLHC8774

HIS LORDSHIP ERIC KYEI BAFFOUR ESQ.

YVONNE ATTAKORA OBUOBISA DPP WITH EVELYN KEELSON CSA STELLA APPIAH PSA FOR THE REPUBLIC PRESE NT.

ABU JUAN JIAGARA ESQ. WITH NICOLE-MARIE POKU ESQ. FOR THADDEUS SORY ESQ. FOR ACCUSED PRESENT

GODWIN TEMAKLOE ESQ WITH REINDORF TWUMAI ANKRAH EQ. FOR A2

BAFFOUR ASSASIE-GYIMAH ESQ. WITH KODWOE YANKSON ESQ FOR A4

ANDREW APPAU OBENG ESQ. FOR A5

[2020]DLHC8774
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >THE REPUBLIC<o:p></o:p>vs<o:p></o:p>EUGENE BAFFOE BONNIE, MATTHEW WILLIAM
TETTEH TEVIE, DR. OWUSU ENSAW, ALHAJI SALIFU MIMINA OSMAN AND GEORGE DEREK
OPPONG<o:p></o:p>[HIGH
COURT, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

SUIT NO. CR/904/2017&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DATE: 12TH MAY, 2020<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:
<o:p></o:p>YVONNE ATTAKORA OBUOBISA,
DPP WITH EVELYN KEELSON, CSA, STELLA APPIAH, PSA, FOR THE REPUBLIC PRESE NT.<o:p></o:p>ABU JUAN JIAGARA, ESQ. WITH
NICOLE-MARIE POKU, ESQ. FOR THADDEUS SORY, ESQ. FOR ACCUSED PRESENT<o:p></o:p>GODWIN TEMAKLOE, ESQ WITH
REINDORF TWUMAI ANKRAH, EQ. FOR A2<o:p></o:p>BAFFOUR ASSASIE-GYIMAH, ESQ.
WITH KODWOE YANKSON, ESQ FOR A4<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">

ANDREW APPAU OBENG, ESQ. FOR
A5<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center;line-height:115%;
border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0cm;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0cm 1.0pt 0cm">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>“…the Pegasus as well known is a Greek mythical immortal winged horse endowed
with supernatural powers that served as a breakthrough to freedom. My Lord,
everybody wants freedom and the name itself suggests that it has very powerful
capabilities, that is the Pegasus system”<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>Per the 4th Accused, Alhaji Salifu Mimina
Osman on the 18th day of February, 2020 at page 6 of the proceedings
on that day. Indeed Pegasus, the offspring of the Olympian god Poseidon is
captured in the image of a visible pure white horse in Greek mythology. He was
caught by Bellerophon and was ridden on to defeat chimera. In an attempt to
reach mount Olympus, this winged horse was transformed into a constellation in
the northern sky.<o:p></o:p><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>The manufacture and sale by an Israeli company by name
NSO Group Technologies Ltd (NSO) of a modern equipment, named after this Greek
mythical figure having the functionalities, among others, of monitoring phone calls,
including those of Whatsapp &nbsp;(see page 2
of the proceedings on the 7th of February, 2020): as to whether or
not the Board of the National Communications Authority (NCA) approved the use
of its monies for the purchase of such an equipment or that there was no need
for such an approval at all, whether the accused persons did benefit personally
as officers of the public or otherwise in the purchase, whether the National
Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) had made a request for US$8 Million for
such an equipment, are among some of the issues that are at the heart of the
seventeen charges preferred by the Republic against the accused persons.<o:p></o:p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
text-align:justify;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;mso-layout-grid-align:
auto;punctuation-wrap:hanging;text-autospace:ideograph-numeric ideograph-other">The accused persons were arraigned before the
court on the 22nd of December, 2017 on seventeen charges. A1 was
charged with eight counts. A2 with eight counts as A1. A3 with six of the
counts. A4 with seven of the counts whilst A5 on the other hand was charged
with six of the counts. The charges &nbsp;range
from conspiracy to wilfully cause financial loss to the State, wilfully causing
financial loss to the State, conspiracy to steal, stealing, using public office
for profit, contravention of the Public Procurement Act, Money laundering,
intentionally misplaying public property, &nbsp;all contrary to sections 23(1) and 179A(3)(a),
124(1), 179C(a)&nbsp; all of the Criminal
Offences Act, 1960, Act 29, sections 92(1), 14(1)(a), 15(1) of the Public Procurement
Act, 2003, Act 663, sections 1(1)(c) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, Act 749,
2007 and finally section 1(2) of the Public Property Protection Act, 1977, SMCD
140, respectively.<o:p></o:p>The facts as recounted by prosecution is that the
first accused, a former chairperson of the&nbsp;
Board of NCA, 2nd accused, the former Director-General of
NCA, third accused, a Board member and chairman of the Finance sub-committee of
the NCA and the fourth accused, being also a Board member and the former Deputy
National Security Coordinator until December, 2016, all without any provision
having been made in the budget and supplementary budgets of NCA in 2015 and 2016
for the purchase of a cyber-surveillance equipment, and with the NCA not having
discussed and approved the use of NCA’s money for the purchase of such equipment,
A5 was engaged by A1 for A2 to sign an agreement with A5 for the latter to be a
reseller of a Pegasus equipment to NCA. That in the process all the accused
persons agreed to act together to steal and cause the various offences for
which they have been charged wherein A4, being the Deputy National Security
Coordinator authored a letter purporting it to have emanated from the National
Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) requesting for an amount of $US8 Million as
institutional support for the NSCS for the purchase of a cyber-surveillance
equipment. That by this letter generated by A4, the Finance Director of NCA was
made to act under the directions of A1 and A2 to transfer an amount of $US4
Million into the account of Infralocks Development Ltd, (IDL) controlled by A5,
when there had also not been any necessary required processes for selection of
such an entity as required by the Procurement laws of the country for IDL to
undertake such purchase of goods. That upon receipt of the monies, A5
transferred an amount of $1 US Million to an Israeli company, NSO Group
Technologies for the purchase of a Pegasus equipment. That the $3 US Million
was kept for the personal use of the Accused persons, who upon the matter coming
to light, </main>