Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Honourable Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has disputed the Economic and Organised Crime Office’s account that it personally invited him to assist with an investigation in February 2026.
He explained that the letters cited by EOCO were initially addressed to the Senior Partner of his law firm and did not, in his understanding, amount to personal summons requiring him to appear before the agency. The MP also argued that their previous interactions in Parliament gave him no indication that EOCO was seeking his personal attendance.
The Manhyia South MP explained that he has accompanied several people to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) as counsel on different occasions, making the circumstances surrounding his own attempted arrest particularly difficult for him to understand.
Honourable Awuah recalled an encounter in Parliament involving Raymond Archer, the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dr Dominic Ayine, and the Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Ahmed Shaib, during discussions on the proposed new EOCO legislation.
According to the MP, the meeting provided an opportunity for the participants to discuss the growing issue of indiscriminate arrests and the need for state institutions to exercise their powers appropriately.
He disclosed that the discussions extended beyond the formal consideration of the proposed legislation, with the participants engaging on matters he considered important to the national interest. However, Honourable Awuah insisted that Archer never informed him during those interactions that EOCO wanted to meet him or that officers were seeking him in connection with an investigation.
“He never told me that he was looking for me. What he rather said, he wanted to have me in his net.”
Honourable Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah
The Manhyia South MP therefore questioned why Archer would not have directly informed him if EOCO intended to secure his attendance, particularly given the opportunity they had to discuss the matter face to face. He argued that the circumstances were significant because the parliamentary encounter occurred after the law firm engaged EOCO over correspondence concerning the Senior Partner of Sarkodie Baffour Awuah & Partners.
Honourable Awuah reiterated that his previous dealings with EOCO did not establish that he has been personally identified as a subject of investigation, pointing to the correspondence and subsequent engagement between the agency and his law firm.
February EOCO Letters Form Basis Of Awuah’s Defence
Honourable Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah also provided details of correspondence between his law firm and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), arguing that the February invitation was directed to the Senior Partner of Sarkodie Baffour Awuah & Partners and not issued to him as the subject of an investigation.
The Manhyia South MP explained that the first letter, dated February 10, 2026, invited the Senior Partner to assist with investigations into alleged financial irregularities at SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited.
He drew attention to the date on which the correspondence was received, noting that although the letter requested attendance at EOCO on February 17, the document itself was delivered to the law firm on that same day.
The circumstances prompted the firm to respond on February 18, informing EOCO that its Senior Partner has become a Member of Parliament and that the correspondence was therefore referred to the Clerk of Parliament for advice on the appropriate procedure. EOCO subsequently responded on February 27, addressing the letter personally to Honourable Awuah and rejecting the decision to forward the invitation to Parliament.
The agency, as cited by the MP, stood on the ground that the invitation was addressed to the Senior Partner in his professional capacity and that it did not recognise any correspondence from the Clerk of Parliament as preventing the person occupying that office from honouring the invitation.
Honourable Awuah interpreted the exchange differently, explaining that the response made it clear to him that EOCO was interested in whoever occupied the Senior Partner position at the law firm rather than specifically pursuing him as an individual.
“At this point, it became clear that they wanted the occupant of the Senior Partner’s office. It was obvious to me that it was not necessarily my person they wanted.”
Honourable Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah
The firm consequently arranged for its Managing Partner to attend EOCO, where she was received and interviewed by officers of the agency. Following the engagement, the Managing Partner was requested to provide specific documents relating to the matter and later submitted a written statement to EOCO as requested.
Honourable Awuah pointed to that sequence as evidence that the agency accepted the Managing Partner’s participation without informing her that she was not the person required for the investigation. He further noted that EOCO did not subsequently return to the firm with another request for his personal attendance after the documents and written statement had been submitted.
The Manhyia South MP therefore argued that the February correspondence did not establish that he was personally been under investigation, distinguishing the professional invitation to the Senior Partner from the events that later unfolded. He also linked the correspondence to his later encounter with Raymond Archer in Parliament, noting that the parliamentary discussion occurred after the law firm responded to EOCO and the Managing Partner completed the requested engagement.
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