Court premises too volatile for Baffour Awuah’s attempted arrest by EOCO – Inusah Fuseini

Former Tamale Central MP and private legal practitioner Inusah Fuseini has criticised the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for attempting to arrest Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah at the premises of the Accra High Court.

According to Mr Fuseini, the circumstances at the court complex were too volatile for such an operation, and EOCO should have considered the potential consequences of attempting the arrest there.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 26, he said: “My fundamental difficulty with what happened on the court premises is simply this: I think that that place was so volatile for arrest to happen there.”

The former MP also questioned whether EOCO had established a lawful basis for attempting to arrest Mr Baffour Awuah without a warrant.

EOCO has said the attempted arrest on September 23 formed part of lawful steps to secure the MP’s attendance in an ongoing investigation.

The agency said Mr Awuah had previously failed to honour two invitations issued in February 2026.

However, Mr Fuseini said EOCO had not indicated that the MP had committed an offence in its presence or that there was reasonable suspicion that he had committed a crime.

“Well, EOCO has not told us that there was a basis for effecting a warrantless arrest. But EOCO was continuing on the trajectory of their letter for investigations.

“They have not said that he had committed any crime. They were just calling him to come to assist with investigation,” he said.

Asked whether, based on his understanding of the law, there was a basis for the attempted warrantless arrest, Mr Fuseini responded: “No, because no crime had been committed in their presence.”

He said EOCO had also not indicated that it had reasonable suspicion that Mr Baffour Awuah had previously committed an offence.

“EOCO had not told us that there was a reasonable suspicion that Baffour Awuah had committed a crime in the past and that he was being wanted,” he said.

Mr Fuseini further described EOCO’s approach as problematic, particularly because the operation took place within the court environment.

“I think that the approach was problematic because why would they go and try to arrest him at the court premises?” he asked.

He said the initial interaction between the EOCO official and Mr Awuah appeared to have been civil and cordial, and questioned why the situation subsequently escalated.

“Probably they knew that was why, in the first instance when the approach was made, the lady was very civil, cordial, and respectful.

“Why a sudden change should have drawn their attention to the fact that this thing was potentially explosive, and that could bring them into some sort of criticism,” he said.

EOCO has maintained that the attempted arrest was part of its statutory responsibilities and said the operation was not completed after the situation escalated and officers assessed that further action could endanger public safety.

The Office has also said the investigation remains active and that it will review available video evidence before determining its next steps.