Accra: Lawyers for Mr Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, former Chief Executive Officer of the National Buffer Stock Company Limited, have accused the Attorney-General, his Deputy, and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) of violating a High Court order following his arrest at the Accra International Airport. The legal team, led by Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, described the arrest as unlawful and announced plans to initiate contempt proceedings against the Attorney-General, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem-Sai, and the Director of the BNI.
According to Ghana News Agency, the allegations follow the arrest of Mr Abdul-Wahab at the airport after the High Court had granted him permission to travel to the United Kingdom from July 4 to July 12, 2026, for a medical appointment with his optician. In a statement issued on Sunday, the lawyers said the travel order was granted by the High Court after hearing submissions from both the defence and the prosecution, including the Deputy Attorney-General.
The statement indicated that the order was consistent with previous decisions permitting accused persons standing trial to travel abroad while facing criminal proceedings. It cited previous cases involving public officials and politicians who were granted similar permission to travel while their trials were pending.
The statement also rejected allegations by Dr Justice Srem-Sai, Deputy Attorney-General, that Mr Abdul-Wahab had attempted to withdraw funds from a frozen Republic Bank account. It described the claim as false and challenged the prosecution to produce evidence of any such transaction. The counsel argued that there was no valid court order currently freezing Mr Abdul-Wahab's bank accounts.
The statement explained that earlier freezing orders lapsed after the withdrawal of previous criminal charges against him on May 5, 2026, resulting in his discharge. It said fresh charges filed on May 15, 2026, initiated a new legal process and that, on May 20, 2026, the High Court at Adentan ruled that the re-arrest constituted a fresh process, implying there was no existing freezing order.
According to the lawyers, the legal position had also been communicated to the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in a formal letter delivered about two weeks ago. They maintained that the decision to arrest Mr Abdul-Wahab on allegations relating to a purported frozen account amounted to a deliberate violation of a valid court order.
The statement accused the Attorney-General's Office of orchestrating what it described as persistent harassment of its client through law enforcement agencies. The lawyers said the development reinforced their concerns over what they termed repeated violations of court orders by state institutions. They indicated that contempt proceedings would be commenced against the Attorney-General, his Deputy, and the Director of the BNI over the incident.
The Attorney-General's Office had earlier said Mr Abdul-Wahab was arrested after allegedly attempting to use false means to access funds in a frozen bank account and indicated that it would seek a review of the High Court's order permitting him to travel.