Four public officials are due to be put before the court of law on Friday, June 27, for allegedly conspiring to hijack ten containers of imported rice at Tema Port.

In a post on the X platform, the Office of the Special Prosecutor identified the four as Issah Seidu, who works with the National Insurance Commission (NIC); James Keck Osei, a former director at the Vice President’s Secretariat; and John Abban and Peter Archibold Hyde who are senior customs officials.

They have been formally charged with corruption.

According to the OSP, the rice, imported from Thailand in 2022, was fraudulently claimed by Seidu using fake documents and a letter falsely issued from the Office of the Vice President.

Seidu and Osei allegedly teamed up with Abban and Hyde to override customs processes and secure the goods.

Despite the rice being legally imported and duties paid, the group tried to auction the containers to Seidu.

Their plot collapsed after internal investigations and a High Court ruling exposed the scheme.

In an unrelated event, selected journalists have been trained on the legal rules and procedures that govern the confiscation of assets belonging to persons suspected of corruption and other financial crimes.

The session, organised by the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) in partnership with GIABA, followed an invitation to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) forms part of a broader strategy to engage the media as key partners in promoting transparency and accountability.

Director of Asset Recovery and Management at the OSP, Albert Akurugu, took participants through the Office’s jurisdiction in asset recovery and management.

This included the legal processes for identifying, freezing, and confiscating assets suspected to be linked to corruption.

Albert Akurugu explained the lawful steps the OSP is empowered to take under Ghanaian law.

He clarified that it is not an unlawful act but a legitimate part of investigations—either to gather evidence or to preserve assets believed to be tainted.

He further stressed the vital role journalists play in fighting corruption: “The media must raise public awareness, promote transparency, and hold institutions to account through accurate and responsible reporting.”

The session brought together other state law enforcement bodies, including the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), creating a shared platform for engaging the media on their complementary roles in combating financial crime.