Police declare TikToker 'Ghana Jollof' wanted; Techiman nurse remanded over videos

Pinned summary · as of 16:45

Ghana Police Service alleged that the Ghana Police Service has put out a wanted notice for Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, the TikTok personality known as Ghana Jollof, over alleged incitement to violence. A Techiman-based nurse, Salomey Awiti Bafoh, has separately been arraigned and remanded on a charge linked to the circulation of the videos. Police say Ms Kodua is believed to be abroad and have asked the public for help finding her.

What we know

• The police named Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, aged 40, in a wanted notice and said she is sought over alleged incitement to violence.
• Police believe she is in the United Kingdom, and they have appealed to the public for information on where she is. Anyone with details can go to the nearest police station or call 0500100010.
• According to the notice, Ms Kodua was last seen at Kotoka International Airport in Accra on 4 August 2022.
• Police said their inquiries showed Ms Kodua runs the TikTok account called Ghana Jollof, and a statement from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) said some of its content was thought capable of causing fear, alarm or violence.
• Police cited one video that claimed a near coup at the Jubilee House. They described the claim as false.
• Ms Bafoh, a nurse in Techiman, was arrested and brought before a judge, accused of abetting an offence by helping to publish false news. She was remanded into custody to assist investigations and is due back before the court on 30 September 2026.
• Police alleged that Ms Bafoh helped spread the videos and brought in others to redistribute them on social media. She has not been convicted of any offence.
• Police alleged that money changed hands in connection with the activity, and said forensic checks on phones, audio and video files and mobile money records form part of the evidence.
• Police said they are still working to identify other people who may have circulated the content or financed it.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Onua Online reported police claims that Ms Kodua paid Ms Bafoh and others from the United Kingdom to push the videos, and that Ms Bafoh passed part of the money on. These allegations rest on that one report and have not been tested in court.
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  Onua Online also quoted CID Director-General COP Lydia Yaako Donkor as saying the police know everyone funding the activity, including high-profile people, and as claiming that some influential figures sent large sums. No one has been named or charged in that regard.
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  The Press Radio reported that Ms Bafoh pleaded not guilty, appeared before an Adentan Circuit Court, and that her lawyers have asked the High Court to grant her bail. Other reports do not mention these details.
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  GhPage reported unconfirmed information that Ms Kodua died in 2023 and said a funeral poster in her name was circulating online. A relative quoted by GhPage said the woman shown in the police post had died while abroad for medical care and was buried in Ghana in 2023. The police have not addressed this.
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  The Press Radio said Ms Kodua has responded to the notice and the accusations, but its report does not say what she claimed.
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  Lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor said, according to The Press Radio, that offensive material should be treated differently from speech that is a crime, and that the authorities should point to the exact content they regard as criminal.
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  Opemsuo 104.7 noted that the police gave no further details of the circumstances of the alleged offence.

Why it matters for Ghana

The case shows how far Ghanaian police are prepared to go against social media accounts accused of spreading alarming claims about state security, including cooperating with foreign agencies. People who share or forward viral videos, especially in WhatsApp and TikTok circles, can face criminal charges as the case against the Techiman nurse illustrates. It also raises questions about where the line lies between offensive online speech and a punishable offence, which the courts may eventually have to address.