Main suspect in $5.3m sale of Ghana's diplomatic property in Nigeria arrested

Ghanaian security operatives have arrested Bright Mensah Bonsu, the man accused of receiving US$1.5 million in cash and signing documents purportedly selling a prime diplomatic property belonging to Ghana’s High Commission in Nigeria.

The arrest was confirmed in a Facebook post on Tuesday, 15 April 2025, by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Bright Mensah Bonsu is said to have identified himself as a special aide to the late Alhaji Rashid Bawa, Ghana’s former High Commissioner to Nigeria, who was appointed by then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

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According to Mr Ablakwa, there is no evidence that the US$1.5 million was paid into any official government account, nor is there a record at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the transaction was formally 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 installment. The outcome of the 2024 elections must have thwarted their plans.

Mr Ablakwa also confirmed that investigations are ongoing into how Mensah Bonsu was issued a diplomatic passport:

We are also investigating the circumstances under which Bright Mensah Bonsu was issued a diplomatic passport on 18 October 2023 by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, when by all assessments, he could not have been eligible for one.

He emphasised that Mensah Bonsu was not an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor of the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria, despite frequently being seen in the company of the High Commissioner.

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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.

The Foreign Minister stressed that the current administration, led by President John Mahama, would not protect any individuals involved in what he described as a "grand conspiracy" to not only commit a crime but also tarnish Ghana’s international reputation.

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