“I will never ignore an invitation from EOCO if I had received one” — Manhyia MP

Manhyia South Member of Parliament, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has stated that he would not have disregarded an invitation from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), despite asserting that he had not received any such invitation from the agency. The Deputy Attorney General, Dr Justice Srem-Sai, had publicly announced on social media that EOCO had obtained an arrest warrant for Awuah, indicating that he had been invited multiple times but failed to attend.

However, Baffour Awuah clarified that as a serving Member of Parliament, he anticipated the process to be managed through the Speaker of Parliament. Upon learning of the public announcement of the arrest warrant, he opted to report himself to EOCO alongside his legal representatives. Following this decision, he visited the EOCO office with his lawyers and peers to submit himself for questioning regarding the ongoing investigation.

Baffour Awuah maintained that he would not disregard any EOCO invitation and reiterated his denial of having received any such invitations. The MP is currently under an EOCO investigation concerning alleged unauthorized financial transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited. To further this probe, EOCO secured a High Court warrant to search his office and residence.

Disputing certain aspects of EOCO's account of their efforts to contact him, Baffour Awuah argued that some of the correspondence cited by the agency pertained to his previous capacity as Senior Partner of a law firm, representing SIC Life Savings and Loans. His decision to report himself to EOCO came after an attempted arrest at the Accra High Court on September 23, which he deemed unlawful.

The occurrence has prompted inquiries into the procedures for investigating and arresting a sitting Member of Parliament, with Baffour Awuah expressing readiness to cooperate with the investigators.