Suspect arrested in illegal sale of Ghana High Commission property in Nigeria for US$1.5m

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced the arrest of Bright Mensah Bonsu, a man accused of illegally selling a property of the Ghana High Commission in Nigeria.

According to Ablakwa, Mensah Bonsu, who was a special aide to former Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, the late Alhaji Rashid Bawa, received US$1.5 million and signed fake documents in a transaction.

He said that the US$1.5 million was paid into the accounts of Mensah Bonsu and the transaction was not documented by the mission.

“It is important to emphasise that the US$1.5 million cash was not paid into government accounts, neither is there any record at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the cash was officially 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 instalment. The outcome of the 2024 Election must have thwarted their plans,” the minister wrote in a post shared on X on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

Ablakwa, who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, also disclosed that the accused person is also a suspect in the issuance of a diplomatic passport.

“Bright Mensah Bonsu was not a staff member 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.

“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,” he said.

See the minister's post plus a picture of the property below:

We got him!

Bright Mensah Bonsu, the man who received US$ 1.5 million cash and signed documents purporting to sell a prime diplomatic property belonging to Ghana’s High Commission in Nigeria, has finally been arrested by Ghanaian security operatives.

Bright Mensah Bonsu describes himself as a special aide to former Ghana High Commissioner to Nigeria, the late Alhaji Rashid Bawa, who was appointed by President Akufo-Addo.

It is important to emphasise that the US$ 1.5 million cash was not paid into government accounts, nor is there any record at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the cash was officially 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 instalment. The outcome of the 2024 elections must have thwarted their plans.

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 member 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.

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.

This latest significant development should send clear assurances to Nigerian government officials and the Nigerian attempted buyer who have all desperately petitioned the Mahama government demanding our intervention, that consistent with what we have always said, we take this matter very seriously and will do everything in our power to bring the notorious criminals to justice and recover the US$1.5million.

The Mahama administration would not shield anyone who played a role in this grand conspiracy, not only to commit crime but to dent Ghana’s enviable international image.

The Government of Ghana is equally determined not to allow this condemnable incident to mar our great and ancestral bilateral relations with Nigeria.

We promised that justice would be done, and we are keeping our word.

Let me state for the umpteenth time, no diplomatic property belonging to the people of Ghana is for sale — severe consequences await anyone who tests our resolve.

For God and Country

We got him!

Bright Mensah Bonsu, the man who received US$1.5million cash and signed documents purporting to sell a prime diplomatic property belonging to Ghana’s High Commission in Nigeria has finally been arrested by Ghanaian security operatives.

Bright Mensah Bonsu describes… pic.twitter.com/hc3tAf5Gn6

— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) April 15, 2025