Four public officials have been charged with corruption over 10 containers of rice they reportedly hijacked from an importer at the Tema Port in 2022.
Issah Seidu, James Keck Osei, John Abban, and Peter Archibold Hyde have been formally charged with corruption after they allegedly conspired to hijack 10 containers of imported rice at the Tema Port.
The rice, imported from Thailand in 2022, according to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) was fraudulently claimed by Issah Seidu using documents that were not genuine and a letter falsely issued from the Office of the then Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Seidu, who works with the National Insurance Commission, and James Keck Osei, a former Director at the Vice President’s Secretariat, allegedly teamed up with two senior Customs officials—John Abban and Peter Archibold 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 Issah Seidu.
Their plot, according to investigations by the OSP collapsed after internal investigations and a High Court ruling exposed the scheme.
The four are due in court on Friday, 27 June 2025.
