Suspended Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi has sued ace investigator Anas Aremeyaw Anas for ridiculing him in the infamous Number 12 investigative sting.

With two others, TigereyePI and one Ahmed Hussein Soale included as Respondents, Mr Nyantakyi is seeking damages for what he says is the violation of his fundamental human rights.

He averred in the suit filed on the 25^th September 2018, the secret recording of his interactions and the publication of same by the defendants were not only an assault on his dignity but caused him considerable embarrassment through the “caustic and adverse and social comments.”

He is consequently demanding an order of the court to “declare that the secret recording of my conversation and interactions with Respondents and publishing same without my consent and authority violates my fundamental human right to privacy and confidentiality in my dealings with others.”

He is also asking the court to declare that by “prejudicially and deliberately publishing the secret recording of my conversations with Respondents and misrepresenting to the public that Respondents paid me money under corrupt circumstances thereby exposing me to ridicule…”

Anas Aremeyaw Anas

Background

For a Ghana Premier league that had gone without a sponsor for years, Kwasi Nyantakyi struck a business deal in a hope of securing a sponsor for the local league.

The sponsor who, unknown to him [Nyantakyi] was an undercover journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas had promised a $15 million sponsorship deal for the league.

With his right-hand man, popularly called Abu, who is also the Northern Region Chair of the FA, the two set up a company to act as an agency for the new sponsorship deal. 

They were to take a cut of up to 25% from the sponsorship deal once the deal is sealed. 

The two thought they were discussing business with their partners but unknown to them they were being recorded by the undercover journalists and the entire conversation later aired in a documentary titled Number 12.

Even more controversial in the documentary was the comments by Mr Nyantakyi that he had the president and vice president and other senior government officials in his pocket and could get them to do anything the business man wanted.

He demanded an amount of $11 million from the supposed business men to settle the men in his pocket in order to create opportunities for the businessman to begin to do business in Ghana.

He was later seen taking an amount of money from the businessmen [Anas and investigators].

Anas claimed the amount of $65,000 was given to him for shopping but Mr Nyantakyi has since denied the claim saying it less than that and it was not for shopping.

The conduct of Mr Nyantakyi was said to be in contravention of the conduct

Article 15 of the GFA code of Ethics titled COMMISSION states: “Officials are forbidden from accepting commission or promises of such commission for negotiating deals of any kind while performing their duties unless the presiding body has expressly permitted them to do so. In the absence of such a presiding body, the body to which the official belongs shall decide.”

Mr Nyantakyi was later heavily criticized and trolled on mainstream and social media after which he was suspended by FIFA. He later resigned as FA President.

Three months later Mr Nyantakyi has proceeded to court with a suit challenging the modus operandi of the TigereyePI, the company that conducted the investigation and the lead investigator himself Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

He wants the court to uphold his rights which he said has been abused and to slap damages on Anas and his men for embarassing him.