Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry has cancelled 10 Service Passports allegedly obtained by people who did not qualify for them and referred two ministry officers to the police for possible prosecution.
Acting Director of Passports Mahama Yahaya Amantana and junior Foreign Service Officer Alhassan Sumani have been interdicted, the Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Majority Leader James Agalga told Parliament on Friday that the passport director had been removed from his position temporarily to allow investigations to proceed without interference.
Investigation follows two petitions
The inquiry began after the Ministry received two petitions alleging that an organised network within the passport administration was selling Service Passports to people who were ineligible to receive them.
The first petition, submitted on Thursday, October 8, 2026, alleged that US$29,000 had been paid. A second petitioner in 2026 said US$5,000 had been paid to members of the alleged syndicate.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa established an investigative committee on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, five days after the first petition was received.
The Ministry said Sumani, a Foreign Service Officer Grade A5, was identified in all the petitions as the alleged main organiser. It said he had acted as a locally known “goro boy” or middleman in 2023, before joining the Foreign Service on Friday, November 29, 2024.
Akwatia MP Bernard Bediako Baidoo had earlier disclosed the interdiction of a recruit appointed in November 2024 during television discussions on Wednesday.
Retired Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who was Director of Passports during the period under investigation in 2023, will also face inquiries by security agencies. The Ministry said he would be sanctioned if found culpable.
Ten passports revoked
The preliminary investigation found that 10 people who failed to meet the statutory eligibility requirements had received Service Passports between January 2023 and August 2026 after allegedly paying the network.
The Ministry published the names of the recipients and the serial numbers of the documents. Four passports were issued in January and February 2023, two on May 28, 2026, and four on August 11, 2026.
All 10 passports have now been revoked, while Ghana’s international partners have been formally informed that they are no longer valid. Security agencies are searching for the holders, including two people who used the documents to travel abroad in 2023.
The Ministry also rejected claims raised in Parliament by Damongo MP Samuel Abu Jinapor on Tuesday, November 3, that Diplomatic Passports were being sold.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the matters under investigations are about Service Passports and not Diplomatic Passports,” it said.
Official figures showed that 1,397 Service Passports and 2,899 Diplomatic Passports were issued between 2009 and 2016. From 2017 to 2024, the totals increased to 3,174 and 5,682 respectively. Since 2025, 754 Service Passports and 1,944 Diplomatic Passports have been issued.
In May 2025, the Ministry cancelled 701 diplomatic and service passports held by former public officials who had not returned them after leaving office.
Passport issuance remains governed by the Passports and Travel Certificates Decree, 1967 (NLCD 155), as amended by the Passports and Travel Certificates (Amendment) Law, 1993 (PNDCL 310). The Ministry said reforms, including chip-embedded passports, application centres across all 16 regions and a reduction in the standard fee from GH¢500 to GH¢350, remain in place.
