NPP demands recall of Parliament and public inquiry into cocaine seizures linked to Ghana

Pinned summary · as of 15:53

Ghana's main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), wants MPs brought back from recess to investigate a string of cocaine seizures tied to the country. Its National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye, laid out the demand in Accra on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, and asked for a cross-party committee to examine how the drugs moved through Ghanaian ports and airports.

What we know

• The NPP urged the Speaker to reconvene Parliament and to create a special bipartisan committee to look into the seizures. “We therefore call on the Speaker to recall the House without delay,” Mr Boakye said.
• The briefing took place on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, with Mr Boakye addressing journalists at NPP headquarters in the capital.
• The party wants the committee to hold open hearings, call witnesses and force the release of records such as shipping, inspection and clearance papers.
• By the NPP's own tally there have been 12 major narcotics cases linked to Ghana, and it puts their combined estimated street value above US$1 billion.
• The NPP pointed to a tipper truck stopped at Pedu Junction, Cape Coast, in March 2025, where 3,319.66 kilogrammes of the drug lay hidden beneath sand. The load was valued at about US$350 million.
• It also cited French customs action at Dunkirk in September 2026, where a container that had come from Ghana held close to 3.9 tonnes of cocaine.
• Mr Boakye called for accountability from the agencies that guard ports, airports and borders and that fight narcotics, and for their heads to be removed.
• He also asked why Tema Port is run by an officer whose service had ended before his contract was extended, and he challenged President John Dramani Mahama to explain the decision.
• The party asked whether the earlier seizures have produced any finished prosecutions or prison sentences, and what changes were made at ports such as Tema afterwards.
• Mr Boakye accused officials at ports and airports of complicity in drug trafficking and said Ghana has become a key transit route. These are accusations by the party and have not been proved.
• The NPP raised questions over the arrest of Musah Atta, saying he has appeared in pictures and videos linked to the presidential security detail.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  The Custodian reported that NACOC Deputy Director-General Alexander Twum-Barimah said early background checks had not shown any suspect in custody to be a presidential escort. No other report carries this response.
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  The Custodian also said four suspects have been remanded over the alleged export of about four tonnes of cocaine to France and that a fifth is still at large; the account rests on that report alone.
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  Reports differ on the time span behind the count of 12 cases: The Vaultz News quoted Mr Boakye as saying the party's count covers the government's first 18 months, Onua Online quoted NPP communicator Dennis Miracles Aboagye as saying 20 months, and Graphic Online gave the period as 2025 to September 2026.
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  The Custodian put the Dunkirk haul at about US$260 million and described it as nearly four tonnes, while Graphic Online said the drugs were allegedly hidden in plastic waste. Neither detail is confirmed by other reports.
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  Kumasi Mail reported that the NPP also cited about 120 slabs of cocaine seized on the Takoradi-Cape Coast Highway (estimated at US$150 million), 89.74 kilogrammes found at Kotoka International Airport in April 2025 and a haul of 866 parcels believed to hold the drug at Tema in August 2026. These figures come from one report.
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  The Vaultz News reported that Mr Boakye questioned whether the Tema Port commander's contract extension was influenced by a reported family tie to the Finance Minister. No other report mentions this, and the claim has not been confirmed.
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  Graphic Online reported Mr Boakye's allegation that traffickers have set up hidden laboratories in Ghana and that some officials helped move narcotics. No other report carries it and it remains unproven.
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  Onua Online reported that Mr Aboagye blamed faulty Ghana Maritime Authority equipment for drugs passing through the ports. NDC Deputy General Secretary Mustapha Gbande questioned the basis of that claim, called the NPP's inquiry demand unnecessary, and said the joint task force and ongoing investigations show the government is already acting.

Why it matters for Ghana

Tema Port, Kotoka International Airport and the Cape Coast and Takoradi road corridor handle much of the goods and travel that Ghanaian households and businesses depend on, so any doubt about security there touches trade and jobs. Mr Boakye said the seizures hurt Ghana's reputation abroad and affect travellers and firms that operate internationally. The clash over a parliamentary inquiry versus the government's task force will also decide how openly the handling of these cases is scrutinised.