Foreign Affairs Ministry Cancels 10 Illegally Issued Service Passports, Interdicts Two Officers

ACCRA, November 8, 2026 – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cancelled 10 Service Passports allegedly issued illegally to individuals who did not qualify for them, following investigations into a suspected passport-for-sale syndicate operating since 2023.

The Ministry has also interdicted the Acting Director of Passports, Mahama Yahaya Amantana, and a junior Foreign Service Officer, Alhassan Sumani, who have both been named in petitions concerning the alleged scheme.

In a statement issued on Sunday, November 8, the Ministry said the two officers had been referred to the Ghana Police Service for further investigations and possible prosecution.

According to the Ministry, it received two petitions on October 8, 2026, and subsequently established a committee on October 13 to investigate allegations of irregular issuance of Service Passports. The petitions reportedly alleged that payments of US$29,000 and US$5,000 were made to individuals involved in the suspected criminal network to secure the passports.

The Ministry's preliminary investigations have identified 10 Service Passports allegedly issued without the beneficiaries meeting the required conditions. Four of the passports were issued in January and February 2023, while the remaining six were issued between May and August 2026.

The Ministry has confirmed that all 10 passports have been cancelled and can no longer be used. It added that international partners had been notified, while efforts were underway to pursue the beneficiaries, including two individuals who allegedly used the passports to travel in 2023.

The statement further disclosed that former Director of Passports, Ambassador Mohammed Habib Idris, who was in office during the period in which some of the alleged irregularities occurred, would also be investigated by the security services and sanctioned if found culpable.

The Ministry described the suspected operation as a sophisticated scheme that predated the current administration, insisting that the government was committed to ensuring accountability regardless of when the alleged misconduct occurred. It however stressed that the investigations particularly concerns Service Passports and not Diplomatic Passports, adding that no evidence had so far emerged to suggest that Ghana's Diplomatic Passports were being sold.

The Ministry also used the statement to highlight reforms introduced under President John Dramani Mahama's administration, including the introduction of chip-embedded passports, the establishment of Passport Application Centres in all 16 regions, 24-hour operations, free courier delivery and an electronic tracking system. It said the cost of acquiring a passport had also been reduced from GH¢500 to GH¢350 to make the process more affordable.

The Ministry further disclosed that between 2009 and 2016, a total of 1,397 Service Passports were issued, compared with 3,174 between 2017 and 2024 and 754 from 2025 to date. For Diplomatic Passports, 2,899 were issued between 2009 and 2016, 5,682 between 2017 and 2024, and 1,944 from 2025 to date.

The Ministry, led by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has pledged full transparency and impartiality in the investigations, promising that anyone found culpable would be brought to justice. It has also assured Ghanaians and the international community of its commitment to protecting the integrity and credibility of Ghanaian passports.