Els: MBN360 News
Lawyers for former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab, have threatened to file contempt proceedings against the Attorney-General, the Deputy Attorney-General and the Director of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) over what they describe as the unlawful arrest of their client at the Accra International Airport.
The legal team argues that the arrest violated a valid High Court order that had granted Abdul-Wahab permission to travel to the United Kingdom for a medical appointment.
In a statement issued on Sunday, July 5, 2026, lead counsel Godfred Yeboah Dame dismissed as “false” claims made by Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem Sai in a Facebook post on Saturday, July 4, 2026, that the former NAFCO boss was arrested after attempting to access money in a frozen Republic Bank account.
According to the lawyers, the High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Achibonga, granted Abdul-Wahab permission on June 29, 2026, to travel to the United Kingdom from July 4, 2026 to July 12, 2026, for an appointment with his optician.
They said the application was approved after both the defence and the prosecution, including Dr Srem Sai, presented their arguments before the court. The lawyers added that the decision followed established legal practice, where accused persons are allowed to travel for medical or other legitimate reasons while standing trial.
The statement also pointed to previous cases involving high-profile public officials, including Dr Stephen Opuni, Seidu Agongo, Alhaji Collins Dauda, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and Dr Kwabena Duffuor, who were granted similar permission to travel despite facing criminal charges.
Read also:
- All Eyes on BoG as Inflation Rebound Tests Policy Resolve
- 4-year-old boy swept away by river in Ga South
- President Mahama celebrates US on 250th Independence anniversary, reaffirms strong Ghana-US ties
- Africa Projected to Supply 15% of Global Lithium within 5yrs
- Africa’s Energy Transition; Shifting from Technology Choices to System Design
Abdul-Wahab’s legal team further denied allegations that he attempted to withdraw money from a frozen bank account before leaving the country.
“We challenge him to produce evidence of a withdrawal of any sum by our client from any of his bank accounts since the date of the court order,” the statement said.
The lawyers also insisted that there was no valid court order freezing Abdul-Wahab’s bank accounts at the time of his arrest.
According to them, any earlier freezing order ceased to exist after the prosecution withdrew previous charges against Abdul-Wahab on May 5, 2026, leading to his discharge. They further cited a ruling by the High Court at Adentan on May 20, which they said confirmed that fresh charges filed later amounted to a new legal process, meaning no previous freezing order remained in force.
The legal team said this position had already been communicated to the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in a formal letter sent about two weeks ago.
Describing the airport arrest as a “blatant and wilful violation” of the High Court’s order, the lawyers accused the Attorney-General’s Office of misleading the public and unlawfully using the BNI to arrest their client.
They announced that contempt proceedings would be filed against the Attorney-General, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem Sai and the Director of the BNI over the incident.
