The 15-year prisoner, currently hospitalized at 37 Military Hospital, faces deteriorating health requiring wheelchair use.

Advocates including satirist Kwaku Sintim-Misa (KSM) and ex-NEIP CEO Kofi Ofosu Nkansah argue Essien’s continued imprisonment contradicts the discontinuation of cases against other banking collapse figures. “If all others are free, why not him?” Nkansah posted, while KSM appealed: “He’s in a wheelchair – grant clemency.”

Essien’s imprisonment followed a December 2022 conviction for stealing GH¢620 million in Bank of Ghana liquidity support. After pleading guilty, he agreed to repay GH¢90 million but defaulted on a GH¢20 million installment in April 2023. High Court Justice Eric Kyei Baffour then imposed the maximum sentence under Section 35(7) of the Courts Act for violating restitution terms.

Notably, former President Akufo-Addo sought to pardon Essien in 2023 among 11 prisoners, but the Council of State rejected the request. The case exposed complex fraud: Essien diverted funds through shell companies (MC Management Services, All Time Capital), fabricated Sovereign Bank capital, and orchestrated GH¢27.5 million cash deliveries in jute bags for “business promotion.”

The appeal tests presidential prerogative powers under Article 72 amid ongoing debates about accountability in Ghana’s banking sector clean-up. No official response has been issued by the Presidency.