Lawyer Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah has stated that he would not advise his client, former Deputy Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Gifty Oware-Mensah, to appear before the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) if she has not been officially invited.

Speaking on JoyNews, he dismissed reports suggesting that his client had been summoned for questioning, emphasizing that no security agency had reached out to her regarding any investigation.

"Find out from Martin Kpebu, that for the years of his practice, if no investigative body invites his client, will he advise his client to appear before an investigative body? Appearing before the investigative body as what? A busybody?" he questioned.

"I'm not sure I'm going to engage my client, I'll advise her very respectfully. Legal advice is like a perfume, you smell it, you don’t swallow it. So when I give it to her, she'll make her judgment as to whether she is going to go or not," he added.

He firmly stated that Gifty Oware-Mensah had not been invited by the NIB or any other security agency.

"Up until today, she had not been invited by the BNI. Up until today, no security agency has invited her.

"I am putting it on record, Gifty Oware, up until today, has not been invited by any security agency," he stressed.

Addressing rumors that his client had fled the country following the arrest of Kwaku Ohene Djan, a former Deputy Executive Director of the NSA, Awuah clarified that they proactively contacted the intelligence agency to set the record straight.

"We wrote because, following the arrest of Kwaku Ohene, there were a lot of publications that the BNI was looking for her and she had absconded.

"Subsequently, the president went to Parliament to make a similar allusion, although her name was not mentioned. So when we put one and two together, we concluded that all references were to her," he explained.

To counter any speculation regarding her whereabouts, Oware-Mensah voluntarily returned to Ghana, which her lawyer argued demonstrated that she was not evading authorities.

"Now, when you put these facts together, would you describe her as a flight risk?" he asked.

Responding to Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin's claim that Oware-Mensah would later meet with the NIB, Awuah clarified that this was a preemptive move to prevent unnecessary tensions.

"The Minority Leader, seeing what had happened to Kwaku Ohene Djan, concluded that the Rambo-style of arrest did not engender peace and might lead to protests, which would not augur well for the work of the BNI.

"So he went out of his way to ensure that certain arrangements were made so that people were not picked up in that manner," he explained.

Expressing dissatisfaction with how information about his client had been handled, Awuah questioned the source of reports suggesting she was wanted by security agencies.

"I’m putting it on record that Gifty has not been invited by anybody, so I don’t know who even briefed the president. It's unfortunate," he said.

Former Deputy Director of the National Service Authority (NSA), Gifty Oware Mensah, arrived at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday as investigations continue into an alleged payroll fraud scheme at the Authority.

This follows President John Mahama’s directive to declare former heads of the NSA wanted after a financial scandal in which a headcount uncovered 81,885 fraudulent entries on the payroll.

Her return comes amid reports that the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) had been searching for her in connection with the scheme, which was exposed by The Fourth Estate and could have cost the state over GH¢50 million in fraudulent payments every month if left undetected.

According to reports, she had been in the United States after the elections but arrived in Ghana on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 4, where she was received by relatives at the airport.