On January 16, 2019, two men on a motorcycle shot and killed Ahmed Hussein-Suale Divela, an undercover journalist with Ghana’s highly acclaimed Tiger Eye Private Investigations, while he was driving in the capital, Accra, months after the release of a documentary exposing corruption in soccer.
Sammy Darko, a lawyer for the outlet, told CPJ that witnesses had noticed the two killers — one heavily built and one slim — waiting for hours in the Madina neighborhood before the heavier one pulled the trigger, and they both escaped on the motorcycle.
Divela played a lead role in Tiger Eye PI’s explosive June 6, 2018 documentary, "Number 12," which was broadcast by the BBC under the name “Betraying the Game.” In a sting operation by the filmmakers, Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi is shown accepting US$65,000 as a “gift” and setting himself up a middleman in a sponsorship deal.
Excerpts from the documentary were shared with Ghana’s then President Nana Akufo-Addo ahead of its release and he ordered the arrest of Nyantakyi, who was outside the country. The film led to Nyantakyi’s resignation and a ban by football’s governing body FIFA. Nyantakyi was charged with fraud, but the case against him collapsed after prosecutors failed to call potential witnesses and he was discharged by the court.
Divela was assisting government prosecutors investigating some of the documentary’s allegations, Darko said.
Divela told CPJ in September 2018 that he feared for his life after politician Kennedy Agyapong incited violence against him on Net 2 TV, which he owns, on May 30, 2018, along with the journalist’s photo and address, over the soccer exposé.
"I’m telling you, beat him," Agyapong said. "Whatever happens, I’ll pay. Because he’s bad. That Ahmed."
"Since my image was published and [the] public was incited against me … many people have attempted [to attack me]," Divela told CPJ via WhatsApp. "These criminals after us are people who are … associated with powers that be in Ghana and can do anything and get away with it.
"It [has] been hinted in some quarters that the very man who published [my image] said he was doing everything possible to quell [my] existence," he said.
CPJ called Agyapong for comment in 2021 and 2022 and 2023, but he did not answer.
In 2019, Agyapong told the BBC that he did not regret his comments as he was “saving Ghanaians from criminals.” Similarly in 2020, Agyapong told Forbidden Stories that he “had nothing to do with this murder” and stood by his comments as Anas “uses his power to destroy important people” and extort money from them.
Police told RFI in 2018 that they questioned Agyapong – described by Forbidden Stories as “close to” Nyantakyi – as part of their preliminary investigation.
The soccer film marked the start of a long-running feud between Agyapong and Tiger Eye PI’s founder, Anas Aremeyaw Anas. On May 29, 2018, Agyapong hosted a program on Adom TV where he called him “that Anas boy” and made a throat-cutting gesture.
In March 2023, Anas lost a defamation suit against Agyapong over the lawmaker’s June 2018 documentary, which alleged that Anas was corrupt. In March 2025, a U.S. court awarded Anas $18 million in damages for defamation over comments he made in a 2021 U.S. podcast, in which he called Anas a “criminal” and alleged the journalist was behind Divela’s killing. This was later reduced to $500.
Anas told CPJ that he was "deeply saddened" by Divela’s killing, but he would continue to report on corruption. "Come what may, we will never stop," he said.
The day after Divela’s death, President Akufo-Addo posted on Twitter that he expected “the police to bring to book, as soon as possible, the perpetrators of this heinous crime.”
In the months immediately after the murder, the police made several statements about their arrests, with six in February and two in March, but none proceeded to trial. In April, police said they had questioned a total of 13 people, including Anas and Agyapong.
In 2021, Attorney General Godfred Dame told parliament that U.S. authorities had extracted the data from two cellphones that Divela had with him when he died, which was being analyzed by police,
In 2022, Dame said at a Human Rights Day event that he felt “immense regret” over “the failure of the investigative agencies of state to conclude investigations” in the case.
In 2023, Divela’s brothers told CPJ that they had been threatened by phone and followed for speaking out about his death
When CPJ called the police headquarters for comment in 2021, the officer who answered declined to comment, and calls and texts to police spokesperson Kwesi Ofori did not receive a response. CPJ’s 2022 email did not receive a reply.
Tiger Eye PI lawyer Krow told CPJ in January 2023 that there had been no further updates on the suspects police mentioned in 2019, and no one had been held accountable.
In March 2025, Daniel Owusu Koranteng, a former Tiger Eye PI colleague, was arrested and charged with abetment of crime and murder. He was alleged to have provided Divela’s photos to Agyapong and phone records showed that he spoke to Divela days before his death.
In October 2025, Koranteng was discharged due to lack of evidence.
CPJ’s October 2025 email and call to request comment from the attorney general’s office did not receive any responses.
CPJ has repeatedly called for justice in the case.