Parliamentary Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has called upon the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to strengthen its commitment to identifying and prosecuting the individuals who finance and orchestrate drug trafficking operations connected to Ghana.
Through a Facebook statement released on Thursday, October 1, the Effutu Member of Parliament contended that EOCO has concentrated disproportionately on apprehending and investigating members of the opposition while failing to demonstrate comparable dedication to combating significant drug trafficking enterprises.
Afenyo-Markin’s remarks followed EOCO’s detention of Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, the Member of Parliament representing Manhyia South, as part of an investigation concerning financial transactions related to SIC Life Savings and Loans.
Baffour Awuah presented himself voluntarily to EOCO on October 1, accompanied by his legal representative, Samuel Atta Akyea, and fellow Members of Parliament, subsequent to the Accra High Court issuing an arrest warrant and authorising document searches pertinent to the investigation.
EOCO had informed the court that it had exhausted all reasonable approaches to obtain his voluntary cooperation.
Afenyo-Markin, nevertheless, expressed concerns regarding the methodology employed in the investigation and arrest, asserting that the Minority does not intend to obstruct the substantive investigation.
“We do not by this seek to prejudge the SIC Life Savings & Loans investigation. No one is above the law, EOCO included. But we believe the MP’s treatment forms part of a broader attempt to intimidate critical opposition voices,” he stated.
He asserted that Baffour Awuah had directed EOCO’s prior requests to the Parliamentary Clerk; however, the agency had not acknowledged this correspondence.
The Minority Leader further challenged EOCO’s decision to petition for an arrest warrant, expressing uncertainty regarding why the agency determined that it had exhausted all reasonable methods of securing the MP’s attendance.
The Honourable Baffour Awuah contends that he forwarded the Economic and Organised Crime Office’s February invitations to the Parliamentary Clerk; however, the EOCO declined to acknowledge communications originating from the Clerk’s office. According to publicly accessible information available to our review, there is no evidence demonstrating that the EOCO subsequently engaged with the Speaker prior to obtaining the warrant.
“Upon what grounds, therefore, did it purportedly assert that it had exhausted all reasonable approaches to securing his attendance? It is unfortunate that a misleading narrative is being cultivated, suggesting that the Member of Parliament deliberately evaded the EOCO.”
