By Franklin Asare-Donkoh
Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kwesi Nyantakyi has criticised the investigative methods of journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas, comparing his approach to what he described as a terrorist-style operation.
Speaking on Accra-based JoyNews TV on Tuesday, 6 January 2026, Mr Nyantakyi questioned Anas’s role in the 2018 Number 12 investigation, which exposed corruption in Ghanaian football.
Mr Nyantakyi, who previously served as president of the West African Football Union Zone B, a member of the FIFA Council and a vice-president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was responding to Anas’s assertion that he personally conducted the Number 12 investigation.
The documentary led to Mr Nyantakyi’s resignation from his positions at the GFA and CAF, as well as a ban from football-related activities imposed by world football’s governing body, FIFA.
Challenging the credibility of the investigation, Mr Nyantakyi said he never had any direct interaction with Anas during the undercover operation.
“Anas claims that he did the Number 12 exposé on me, but I never met him. He operated in the way a terrorist would in another country, and when there is a bombing somewhere, he says, ‘I am the one’. That was what he did. So, I have nothing against him,” he said.
Mr Nyantakyi also argued that Anas’s failure to testify in court weakened the allegations made against him.
“This is a man who said he has done an investigation on corruption that involved me. For five years now, he has been asked to come to court and testify against me, and he never showed up,” he said.
According to him, this raised questions about the legal strength of the investigation.
“This means that whatever he did is a hoax. If he believed in it, he would have come to court for him to be cross-examined,” he added.
Mr Nyantakyi further stated that Ghana’s legal system requires that individuals be given a fair hearing before any judgment is made.
“Because nobody can be condemned in this country unless you are given a fair hearing. If you have not been given that hearing, then you cannot be condemned by the law,” he said.
Despite his criticism, Mr Nyantakyi said he bore no personal resentment towards Anas, adding that he had chosen self-reflection over blame.
“I don’t think about him. I hold nothing against him. I blame myself,” he said.
