The Member of Parliament for Effia Constituency, Lawyer Isaac Boamah Nyarko, has described the actions by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) against the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, politically mischievous.
Wontumi has been in EOCO custody since Tuesday, May 27, following an invitation by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over alleged financial impropriety.
Though granted bail with conditions set at GH¢50 million and two justifiable sureties, he remains in custody for failing to meet those terms.
Critics, including members of the Minority in Parliament, have described the bail conditions as excessive and politically targeted.
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In protest, the Minority MPs staged a sit-in at EOCO headquarters to express solidarity with Wontumi and to condemn what they see as unjust treatment.
Speaking on Weekly Review Segment on the Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, Mr. Nyarko described the entire episode as a deliberate political maneuver.
The MP, a lawyer by profession, stressed that due process had been disregarded.
Mr. Nyarko argued that bail should not be punitive, citing legal precedent. He questioned why EOCO failed to issue a formal invitation, as was done previously by the police.
He said, “I have said that the way the State uses its force to arrest people in recent times is becoming very worrying, very unprofessional because we all understand the processes. I’m a lawyer by profession. If you want to arrest someone or you want to get someone under investigation the process is that you invite the person, if the person shows up you tell him the offence upon which you want to investigate him, you take his statement. If the person you think is not a threat to the course of your investigation you grant the person bail and then you continue with your investigation. If you think the person would compromise on your investigation you take the person to court and you make your case and the courts may remind the person. So, we understand this due process.”
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He added, “Why would a person who had voluntarily gone to police headquarters to be interrogated during his exit be ambushed and accosted and forcefully taken out of his vehicle to EOCO premises? If EOCO needed him why wouldn’t they invite him like the police did? It’s becoming very obscene for the state. The man is not a security threat, he’s not a terrorist, he’s not raising arms, he’s not under treason charge and so if it is merely investigation on either his business or payments that have been made to him, that’s not the first time people are being called into question to be interrogated.”
“We had the Adu Boahene being called, did he face this Rambo styled arrest? So, apart from it being politically mischievous, I find it worrying why the state EOCO as a state agency wouldn’t invite him like the police did, avail himself and when he comes to your premise and you interrogate him, definitely you need to give the person bail. Bail is a must in this country. The courts of this country have declared that even someone who is under investigation for murder is entitled to bail.
So, bail is not supposed to be punitive.”
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Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, confirmed that Wontumi is under investigation for serious offences, including fraud, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the state.
Former MP Kennedy Agyapong has offered to stand as a surety as pressure mounts on EOCO to justify Wontumi’s continued detention.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/Hamdia Mohammed
