Bright Mensah Bonsu, the man alleged to be behind the controversial sale of a Ghanaian diplomatic property in Lagos, Nigeria, has been arrested by Ghanaian security officials.
Mensah Bonsu, who reportedly served as a close aide to the late Alhaji Rashid Bawa, Ghana’s former High Commissioner to Nigeria under the Akufo-Addo administration, is said to have received $1.5 million in cash as part of a deal to offload the state-owned property.
The arrest follows intense public criticism and mounting calls for a thorough investigation into the deal, which has raised concerns about the management and protection of Ghana’s diplomatic assets abroad.
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, revealed in a Facebook post on April 15 that the money paid for the property was never deposited into any official government account.
He also disclosed that there are no records at the Ministry confirming that the transaction or the funds were formally declared.
“Documents reveal that Bright Mensah Bonsu and his collaborators had valued the prime Lagos beachfront diplomatic property at US$5.3million and considered the US$1.5million payment as the first installment. The outcome of the 2024 elections must have thwarted their plans,” Ablakwa stated.
The minister further announced an ongoing probe into how Mensah Bonsu came to possess a diplomatic passport issued on October 18, 2023, by the previous government.
“We are also investigating the circumstances under which Bright Mensah Bonsu was issued a diplomatic passport on October 18, 2023 by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government when from all assessments, he could not have been eligible for a diplomatic passport.
“Bright Mensah Bonsu was not a staff 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,” Ablakwa added.
