Former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame has raised serious concerns over the arrest and detention of his client, former NAFCO CEO Hanan Abdul-Wahab.
Speaking on Accra-based Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, July 5, Dame revealed that he and Abdul-Wahab’s wife were denied access to him after his arrest at the Kotoka International Airport by officers believed to be from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
“I was not granted access to my client. They said they do not work on weekends. So I asked how they picked a person on a weekend, and yet they do not work on weekends. I was there with Hanan’s wife, and we were denied access. I do not know what they are doing to him,” he said.
Mr. Dame also pushed back against claims by Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai that the arrest was linked to an alleged attempt to access funds in a frozen bank account. He argued that there is currently no valid freezing order in place.
“How can one attempt to withdraw money from a frozen account? It is even incorrect to say there is an order freezing the account because that order was granted about a year ago under the earlier arraignment of Hanan before court, and it lapsed when the Attorney-General withdrew all the charges and he was rearrested,” he stated.
He explained that Abdul-Wahab’s re-arrest triggered a fresh legal process, meaning previous court orders no longer apply unless renewed.
“If the Attorney-General desires a fresh freezing order, all they need to do is apply for one. Why doesn’t he want to apply for a fresh freezing order? Why is he resorting to this means of violating the rights of an accused person?” he questioned.
Dame expressed surprise at the approach taken by the current Attorney-General’s Office, contrasting it with his own time in office.
“I served in that office. Never once did I authorise the arrest of any person. Never once did I authorise the curtailment of a person’s right to movement. Dr. Stephen Opuni, Seidu Agongo, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, Ato Forson, Collins Dauda and many others were travelling in and out of the country pursuant to court orders. There was never an occasion I authorised an arrest at the airport,” he said.
The arrest reportedly occurred over the weekend as Abdul-Wahab was about to board a flight to the United Kingdom for a court-approved medical appointment, sparking a heated exchange between his legal team and the Attorney-General’s Office.
While the Deputy Attorney-General maintains the action was justified, Dame insists there was no legal basis for the arrest and that his client’s rights were violated.
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