Legal practitioner and former Board Chairman of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Gary Nimako Marfo, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) over a publication alleging that the NLA gave away a GHS3 billion business “in exchange for peanuts.”
The writ of summons, issued from the High Court in Accra on September 30, 2025, names Seth J. Bokpe, a journalist with Fourth Estate, Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director for MFWA, William Nlanjerbor Jalulah, Philip Teye Agbove, and the Media Foundation for West Africa as defendants in the case.
Mr. Nimako, the plaintiff, is seeking GHS10 million in compensatory damages, alongside a public retraction and apology with the same level of prominence as the original story.
He claims the publication, which carried a banner headline and included his photo, was defamatory, ill-motivated, and intended to damage his reputation and that of former board members of the NLA.
The story, originally published by The Fourth Estate — an investigative journalism project under the MFWA — suggested that the NLA had effectively handed over a GHS3 billion revenue stream to KGL Technology Limited for a relatively small annual sum of GHS170 million. The report drew wide public attention and criticism.
However, Mr. Nimako contends that the claims were baseless and misleading.
In the writ, he is seeking:
1. A declaration that the publication is defamatory;
2. A declaration that it was published without just cause;
3. A declaration that it was aimed at stirring public disaffection toward him and others;
4. An order for GHS10 million in compensatory damages;
5. A public apology and retraction of the article;
6. Legal costs, including solicitor’s fees.
According to court documents, the plaintiff is represented by Marfo & Associates, and service of the writ will be done directly on the defendants.
Meanwhile, former Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Samuel Awuku, has pushed back against the report by The Fourth Estate, describing it as “lopsided” and failing to reflect the full scope of the agency’s work under its Good Causes Foundation.
The report had alleged that funds meant for the poor and orphans were instead diverted to “glamorous events and questionable enterprises.”
But in a detailed response issued on Thursday, September 25, Awuku defended the NLA’s activities, highlighting the strategic nature of its spending and the significant social impact achieved over the past three years.
He acknowledged that the NLA sponsored a number of high-profile events, including the EMY Awards and Ghana CEO Summit, but firmly rejected any suggestion of mismanagement.
According to Awuku, such sponsorships made up only about 5% of the Foundation’s total budget and were intended as strategic marketing investments to attract corporate partnerships to the NLA’s Caritas Lottery Platform.
Read more here
Sammi Awuku slams Fourth Estate’s ‘lopsided’ report on NLA spending, highlights GHS11m impact
