Former National Food Buffer Stock Company CEO Hanan Abdul-Wahab has directly petitioned Dr. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, alleging that since the start of his prosecution, his office and state security agencies have subjected him to torture, unlawful detention, and persistent harassment.
The petition was filed on July 17, 2026, following Abdul-Wahab’s complaint that the Economic and Organised Crime Office had unlawfully seized his money and violated his rights in a letter written by his solicitors on 9 July.
Abdul-Wahab insisted on his innocence in the strongly worded letter, saying he has done nothing wrong and is still prepared to submit to any just legal procedure in order to cleanse his name.
He stated that he still has complete faith in the legal system, but he accused the Bureau of National Investigations, EOCO, and the Attorney General’s office of routinely depriving him of due process.
He revealed how he was first detained on June 25, 2025, and kept in EOCO custody for over two weeks under what he called an unwarranted GHc60 million bond requirement.
Additionally, he claimed that the Attorney-General violated his constitutional right to be considered innocent by publicly denouncing him at a news conference before any charges were even brought.
According to Abdul-Wahab, he was later charged before the High Court, Criminal Court 4, which was presided over by Justice Kocuvie-Tay. He entered a not guilty plea and was granted GHc100 million in bail with six sureties, four of whom had to produce landed property.
He characterised these circumstances as repressive and blatantly irrational.
The petition states that after successful legal challenges to procedural errors in the prosecution’s case, all charges against him were dropped on May 5, 2026, some seven months into the trial.
Despite his constant cooperation with the police throughout the case, he said that shortly after his discharge, EOCO operatives invaded the courtroom with armed commandos wearing balaclavas and rearrested him.
Abdul-Wahab also claimed that after this rearrest, his attorneys were prevented from visiting him at EOCO’s offices and that, despite his family and attorneys being present and waiting, he was transferred to the hospital due to an illness.
He said that on May 6, 2026, at around 9 p.m., he was finally released without being questioned and that EOCO only conducted an interview with him the next day.
He stated that around eleven days later, he was re-arraigned before the Specialised Court, which was presided over by Justice Francis A. Achibonga.
He said that on June 29, 2026, the High Court, satisfied that there was no reason to believe he would not return to stand trial, allowed him to fly to the United Kingdom for a planned medical visit. He was told to depart by July 4 and come back on July 12.
The appeal claims that he was arrested by armed BNI agents on July 4 at the Accra International Airport as he was getting ready Ghana board his flight after passing security and immigration checks. He characterised this as a flagrant violation of the current court order allowing his travel.
Abdul-Wahab stated that after being detained for four days without being charged—first in BNI detention and then in EOCO—the Deputy Attorney-General, Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, made accusations on social media that he had tried to take money out of a frozen bank account.
He refuted the accusation, claiming that no proof has been presented against him thus far, including the account, the amount, or the purported method.
Additionally, he claimed that after being transferred from BNI custody, EOCO set a new bail condition of GHc5 million with two sureties, which he regarded as unreasonable and intended to obstruct his release. He also claimed that he was denied access to his attorneys for the majority of the four-day imprisonment.
According to the appeal, EOCO has continued to illegally retain several of his possessions after his release, including his passport, which needs to be submitted with the court registrar, two cell phones, and £6,700 in borrowed travel and medical monies.
He added that on July 6 and 7, while his phones were in the hands of BNI and EOCO, they were accessed without a judge’s permission.
Abdul-Wahab described the pattern of arrests and releases as a “catch and release” tactic.
He alleged to have been arrested and released four times since the start of the case against him and questioned whether the actions taken against him were driven more by personal resentment than by a legitimate prosecutorial goal.
In his prayers to the Attorney-General, Abdul-Wahab asked that EOCO and BNI be instructed to stop what he described as a pattern of harassment against him and his family, that public officials refrain from making any more remarks that would be detrimental to his case, and that all future actions in the matter respect the rule of law and constitutional rights.
In addition, he demanded that EOCO return his passport, phones, borrowed money, and other personal items.
The Chief Justice of the Judicial Service in Accra received a copy of the petition.
Source: newsthemegh.com