The High Court has officially discharged former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, in connection with the ongoing trial linked to the controversial Number 12 exposé. The decision comes after the prosecution failed to present Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the key witness in the case.
Nyantakyi had been facing charges including conspiracy to commit fraud, corruption, and fraud related to his actions captured in the undercover investigative footage. The Number 12 exposé, which aired in 2018, revealed widespread corruption within African football, and Nyantakyi was one of the prominent figures implicated. In the footage, Nyantakyi was seen accepting bribes from an undercover journalist posing as a businessman, while also promising to use his political connections to aid the individual’s business dealings.
The case, however, has been mired in delays, particularly over the matter of whether Anas should testify in court while wearing his signature mask, which he uses to protect his identity. Initially, the High Court ruled that Anas could testify with the mask, but it later reversed that decision following an appeal, instructing that Anas testify without the mask.
On February 13, 2025, when the trial resumed, the prosecution requested a month’s adjournment as they sought advice from the Attorney General, unable to produce Anas in court. Nyantakyi’s defense lawyers, citing the failure to proceed with the case, successfully argued for the charges to be dropped. Consequently, the court discharged Kwesi Nyantakyi from the trial.
Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has categorically denied any role in asking for or taking bribes from Kwesi Nyantakyi, the former president of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), in order to stop the release of the Number12 documentary, which exposed unethical practices in Ghanaian football.
According to Mr. Nyantakyi, he gave Anas $100,000 in an effort to stop the incriminating video from being released.
On Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Mr. Nyantakyi revealed to Onua TV that Anas had asked for $150,000 from him in order to have the video suppressed.
Despite his inability to pay the entire amount, Mr. Nyantakyi was able to secure $100,000, which ultimately resulted in the release of the damaging video.
He criticised Anas, saying that he was driven by money gain despite his reputation as an anti-corruption activist. Referring to the circumstances as blackmail, Mr. Nyantakyi acknowledged having paid $100,000.
Even though Mr. Nyantakyi made an effort to get the money back after the release of the video, he said that it was given gradually and with delays.
However, Tiger Eye P.I. flatly denied the claims in a statement released on Tuesday, April 2.
“Tiger Eye P.I. and Anas Aremeyaw Anas categorically deny any involvement in soliciting or accepting bribes from Kwesi Nyantakyi prior to the publication of the documentary. The core mission of Tiger Eye and Anas is to expose and confront corruption, making the notion of shielding corrupt individuals utterly preposterous given the extensive resources and efforts invested in producing such exposés.”
“It should be noted that neither Tiger Eye P.I. nor Anas Aremeyaw Anas engaged the services of a lawyer named Kwame Gyan from the University of Ghana. At all material times, including before, during, and after the production of the Number12 documentary, Tiger Eye and Anas have exclusively retained the legal representation of CromwellGray LLP, situated in Cantonments, Accra. CromwellGray LLP has consistently acted as legal counsel for Anas in matters relating to litigation initiated by or against journalistic publications involving Anas.”
Any alleged criminal arrangement between Mr. Nyantakyi and any purported lawyer remained strictly between Mr. Nyantakyi and the purported recipient, Tiger Eye P.I. emphasised.
“Tiger Eye P.I. firmly denies any involvement or knowledge of such activities. Should Mr. Nyantakyi’s claims hold substance, we challenge him to pursue legal action against Lawyer Kwame Gyan, including lodging a petition with the General Legal Council, to substantiate his allegations,” it added.
It stated that Mr. Nyantakyi’s notion that a worthwhile exposé, which the BBC had extensively publicised, could be shelved by simply “paying” a $100,000 bribe was not only unexpected but also showed a lack of maturity.
“Tiger Eye underscores its robust internal mechanisms in place, making it difficult for any individual to alter or suppress an investigation,” it added.
It also highlighted the fact that Mr. Nyantakyi had admitted to being a bribe giver and taker, having tried to buy his way out of a careful examination of his actions.
“Per his confessed bribery attempt, Mr Nyantakyi has proven that the life-ban from taking part in any kind of football-related activity at national and international level for conflict of interest and bribery offences provided for by FIFA Code of Ethics (FCE) was justified,” it added.”
Former Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi has disclosed that he paid $100,000 of a $150,000 bribe demanded by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas to prevent the airing of the explosive documentary, Number 12, in 2018.
His fall from grace was ultimately brought about by the contentious documentary, which compelled him to resign from the FIFA Executive Council as well as his presidency of the Football Association.
According to Nyantakyi on Onua TV, Anas, through his lawyer Kwame Gyan, demanded $150,000 to halt the release of the documentary.
Nyantakyi stated that he paid $100,000, but Anas released the documentary in spite of this payment.
Despite the fact that the payments were made in installments, Nyantakyi claimed that he eventually received his money back.
“Before the video was released, a former colleague at the GFA Executive Council, Adam Munkaila, took me to Anas’ lawyers, a certain Kwame Gyan, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon. I met him at his residence around Westland, and he told me Anas was his student and had informed him he needed $150,000 to kill the story. ‘I had never been to his house before,’” Nyantakyi recounted.
“After the video came out, I asked for a refund, and even the refund was done in pieces. Today, they would bring $20,000, and the next day another $10,000. They were giving me stories, but eventually, I got everything back,” Nyantakyi further explained.
This revelation came up during a conversation about his plan to run in the Ejisu by-election after Parliamentary Candidate John Kumah unexpectedly passed away.
Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) President Kwesi Nyantakyi claims he has accomplished all of his goals and does not see the need to return to football.
From 2005 until the Anas Aremeyaw Anas scandal in 2018, Nyanktakyi presided over Ghana’s football governing body. Under his leadership, the Black Stars qualified for their first World Cup in 2006.
FIFA banned the 55-year-old from all football-related activities following the exposé, but he was later exonerated.
After the most recent verdict, there were rumours that Nyantakyi would return to football administration. However, he has chosen to pursue a different career, stating he has nothing more to accomplish in the sport.
“Politics is the ultimate. In all we do…you need political guidance,” he said when asked about his decision to go into politics in an interview with Onua TV.
“I have excelled in Sports. You can’t mention three or four people who are famous in sports in Ghana without adding me. I have reached the pinnacle of my career in sports.
“Apart from Ohene Djan, no one has ever reached where I did in sports. No Ghanaian has served on the FIFA Council. I was the second person after Ohene Djan in the 1960s.”
He clarified that the motivation for entering politics is the wish to use the knowledge one has gained to make a difference.
“I want to use the knowledge, experience and connections that I have acquired for political influence and help the people of this country,” he added.
“That is what motivated and encouraged me to see if I can help in that regard.”
Nyantakyi has formally announced his intention to run for the Ejisu parliamentary seat in the wake of John Kumah’s passing.
The Supreme Court has denied the application for certiorari that investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas filed against Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central.
The previous High Court decision was maintained by the five-member panel, which was presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo.
Six years ago, an Accra High Court dismissed Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s GHC25 million defamation lawsuit against Kennedy Agyapong and fined the journalist GHC50,000.
On Wednesday, February 28, the Supreme Court dismissed the case by a majority vote.
Legal action was taken in 2018 after Anas claimed the legislator had defamed him.
Anas begged the court to punish Agyapong with damages and to force him to clear his record. However, Anas Aremeyaw Anas was unable to provide evidence that Ken Agyapong had defamed him by airing the documentary, according to the High Court, which was presided over by Justice Eric Baah.
The documentary in question, according to the court, rather revealed dubious transactions that Anas and his associates were engaged in.
The court stated in a lengthy ruling that Agyapong had presented enough evidence to demonstrate that the Anas had solicited funds from individuals connected to the evidence he had collected through his investigations.
It further stated that the evidence demonstrated that individuals who could afford the amounts of money demanded by Anas and his associates were excluded from the publically viewed videos.
