Lawyers for former National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, have described the bail conditions imposed on him by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) as outrageous and an attempt to keep him in custody.
In a statement signed by his lawyer, former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, the legal team accused EOCO of imposing excessive bail terms despite Mr. Abdul-Wahab already being on bail in a pending criminal case.
According to the statement, EOCO has granted Mr. Abdul-Wahab bail in the sum of GH¢5 million with two justified sureties following his arrest at the Accra International Airport on July 4.
The lawyers argued that the conditions are unreasonable because Mr. Abdul-Wahab has been complying with an existing court-granted bail and has been reporting to EOCO every two weeks as directed.
The statement said the new bail conditions amount to a deliberate attempt to deprive him of his liberty.
“Our client deems these conditions outrageous, unreasonable and a ploy to further curtail his liberties since he is not in the position to meet them,” the statement said.
Mr. Dame also maintained that Mr. Abdul-Wahab’s arrest was unlawful and accused the Attorney-General, EOCO and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) of abusing their powers.
The legal team further rejected allegations that Mr. Abdul-Wahab attempted to withdraw money from a frozen bank account, insisting no evidence has been presented to support the claim.
It also argued that there is currently no valid court order freezing Mr. Abdul-Wahab’s bank accounts, saying previous freezing orders issued during an earlier prosecution had expired.
According to the statement, Mr. Abdul-Wahab has neither been formally charged nor brought before a court over the allegations cited by the Attorney-General in a recent press statement.
The lawyers warned that if the Attorney-General, EOCO and BNI refuse to release him, Mr. Abdul-Wahab has resolved to remain in custody until the courts determine the matter and uphold what they describe as his fundamental human rights.
