Former Chief Justice, Sophia Abena Boafoaa Akuffo, has resigned as a member of the Council of State, OnuaOnline is learning.
Madam Akuffo served as head of Ghana’s judiciary between 2017 and 2020, during the administration of William Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Information reaching us indicate she submitted her resignation letter last year, 2025, and has not been attending the Council’s meeting since, including the latest one three days ago.
In the meantime, the circumstances surrounding her resignation remain unknown and both the Presidency and Madam Akuffo are yet to comment on the issue.
The Council of State is a constitutional body tasked with advising the President on matters of national importance, with its membership made up of both elected and appointed representatives drawn from across the country.
It is however believed that her resignation stems from the ousting of former Chief Justice, Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo, a consequential judicial moment in Ghana’s history.
She was the sole abstention when 30 out of 31 Council of State members voted in favour to determine a prima facie case against Madam Torkornoo in April 2025, regarding petitions submitted by private entities for her removal. Meanwhile, her reason(s) for abstaining are not known yet.
She further appeared voluntarily before the Article 146 committee established to investigate Torkornoo, at the request of the suspended Chief Justice herself, to present testimony in her defence. Akuffo also came public with her misgivings about the entire process.
In an interview in September 2025, she criticised the proceedings that led to Torkornoo’s removal, arguing that the suspended Chief Justice did not receive a fair hearing.
She described the process as a “treason trial” and said it had weakened the judiciary. She further argued that the allegations against Torkornoo “lack the gravity that will lead to a grave outcome such as the removal of the head of an institution of justice.”
The remarks drew sharp backlash.
Former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, accused Akuffo of breaching her oath of secrecy as a Council of State member, arguing that her statements indirectly revealed knowledge of confidential proceedings.
A member of the United Party, Solomon Owusu, announced plans to petition for her removal, accusing her of breaching the oath of secrecy and saying her actions could set a dangerous precedent.
READ ALSO: I will petition for Sophia Akuffo to be removed from Council of State – Solomon Owusu
Solomon Owusu also criticised her for serving as a witness for Torkornoo before the Pwamang-led committee while still a member of the Council of State, which had participated in establishing the prima facie case.
President Mahama signed the warrant for Torkornoo’s removal on September 1, 2025.
Sophia Akuffo is one of Ghana’s most respected jurists, having served on the Supreme Court for over two decades before becoming the country’s 13th Chief Justice. She was only the second woman to hold the position, after Justice Georgina Theodora Wood.
Before her elevation to Chief Justice, she served as a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and held several roles within the Ghanaian judiciary.
Her time on the Council of State had drawn public attention earlier in 2023, when she joined pensioner groups protesting aspects of the government’s domestic debt exchange programme, arguing that retirees should not bear an unfair burden in the country’s economic recovery effort.
No official announcement has been made regarding a replacement.
Torkornoo’s removal: Committee breached in-camera provision in Constitution – Sophia Akuffo
