The President's Office has firmly denied rumors in the media that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has granted 11 individuals presidential pardons.

Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications, explained in a statement released on January 6, 2025, that the reports were incorrect. The statement highlighted that President Akufo-Addo did not use his prerogative of mercy to pardon the individuals in question, as certain media outlets had implied.

Earlier reports suggested that the President had pardoned individuals, including William Ato Essien, who was sentenced for his role in Capital Bank's collapse. Essien, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for failing to pay a GHS90 million fine, has major medical concerns.

Other suspects were Philip Akpeena Assibit, who was convicted in 2018 for financial loss to the state, and Akwasi Alhassan, a convicted murderer who was serving a life sentence for a 1993 crime.

The President's Office repeated that these assertions were false, and that the President had not pardoned these or any other individuals as claimed.

"We wish to categorically state that these assertions are inaccurate, and no pardon has been granted by President Akufo-Addo," the spokesperson said.

The President's Office has advised the public to dismiss any conflicting information and instead depend entirely on official communications from the President's office.