Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame has criticised the detention of Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), accusing state law enforcement agencies of using their powers to target political opponents.
Dame said the use of arrests, investigations and prosecutorial discretion to settle political scores represented “the lowest point of law enforcement”.
Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah voluntarily surrendered to EOCO on Wednesday, 1 October, amid an investigation into a transaction in which he reportedly earned GHC2.2 million in legal fees.
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EOCO said the lawmaker was cooperating with investigators and that he would appear before a weekend court.
But Mr Dame questioned why the MP had spent two nights in EOCO custody without being granted bail.
“On what account does Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah (MP) spend two nights in EOCO custody without bail when being investigated for a ‘transaction’ from which he earned legal fees of GH¢2.2M?” Mr Dame said.
He also questioned whether the issues being investigated amounted to criminal conduct.
“In any event, are the issues raised from his conduct in the matter criminal?” he asked.
Dame contrasted the treatment of Mr Baffour Awuah with previous cases involving senior political figures, arguing that constitutional protections had previously been respected more consistently.
He cited former Minister for Works and Housing Collins Dauda, who was granted self-recognisance bail while facing trial over allegations involving about $198 million, and former Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson, who was also granted self-recognisance bail in a case involving about 2.3 million euros.
Dame further cited Dr Dominic Ayine, now the Attorney-General, who he said was granted bail in 2017 and did not spend a day in custody while being investigated over his alleged role in the controversial Ameri power deal.
Dame said the recent conduct of EOCO, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) and the Attorney-General’s office was “unprecedented”, alleging that investigative and prosecutorial powers were being used to punish political opponents and settle what he described as “parochial scores”.
“It is correct to say that the investigative and prosecutorial authority of certain state institutions is being utilised to punish political opponents and settle parochial scores,” he said.
He also criticised the authorities for what he described as a failure to focus adequately on serious organised crime.
“Meanwhile, real organised and economic crime like the narcotic trade reigns supreme in Ghana,” Dame said, adding that investigative bodies were instead “busily chasing political opponents and suppressing free speech”.
Source: asaaseradio.com
