Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has strongly lashed out at the Economic and Organised Crime Office over the re-arrest of Hanan Abdul-Wahab, former Buffer Stock boss, and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, describing the move as harassment and an abuse of due process.
The Minoirty leader, in a statement issued Wednesday, said the detention of former National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) CEO, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, was “needless” and politically motivated.
“I find the conduct of EOCO, the Attorney-General and the Government as a whole… very shameful, reprehensible and most unworthy of a healthy democracy,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
The former Buffer Stock CEO, his wife, and five others were previously arraigned before the court over alleged financial impropriety linked to the Buffer Stock Company. However, the case suffered a setback during proceedings when the court upheld objections raised by defence lawyers, exposing what the Minority Leader described as weaknesses in the prosecution’s case.
Following the development, the prosecution—led by the Attorney-General—opted to withdraw all charges on Tuesday, May 5, after an attempt to introduce fresh witness statements without leave of the court. This move was strongly challenged by the defence team, led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame.
A few moments after court proceedings, EOCO re-arrested Hanan and his wife on Tuesday, May 5. According to Afenyo-Markin, the two were detained at EOCO offices without bail, despite previously being on court-granted bail before the case was discontinued.
He further alleged that lawyers for the accused persons were denied access to their clients for several hours on the day of the arrest.
The Minority Leader linked the development to political pressure on the governing National Democratic Congress to demonstrate results under its anti-corruption initiative, popularly known as Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL).
“EOCO’s move… is clearly a desperate attempt to save the face of the Attorney-General and sustain a false impression of a continuation of the Government’s failed ORAL promise,” he claimed.
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𝗘𝗢𝗖𝗢, 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗝𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗭𝗘𝗡𝗦.
I have become aware of the unwarranted arrest and incarceration of the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company, Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) yesterday, 5th May, 2026.
The needless and face-saving arrest followed one year of arraignment of the two accused persons with 3 others in court on charges whose weakness and frivolity were exposed by defence counsel through objections raised and upheld by the court at the Case Management Conference held in the course of the trial.
The Attorney-General, in response to the objections raised and in a bid to boost the weak prosecution he had initiated, attempted to introduce fresh witness statements without leave of the court, contrary to the rules governing the conduct of criminal proceedings in the Republic. When an objection was raised again by defence counsel led by Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame and same was upheld by the court, the Attorney-General’s next move was to withdraw all the charges against the accused persons.
One would have thought that EOCO would step back, conduct more thorough investigations, and understand the matter before deciding whether to charge the accused persons again or not.
However, in an impulsive and knee-jerk reaction, EOCO re-arrested Mr. Hanan Abdul-Wahab and his wife for offences unknown to even his legal team and whisked them off to the EOCO office. Strangely, they have been refused bail and have been kept in custody since yesterday, even though they were on bail granted by the court just before the charges were withdrawn.
Hanan’s lawyers, who were at the offices of EOCO from about 11 am until 8 pm last night, were denied access to him.
I find the conduct of EOCO, the Attorney-General, and the Government as a whole, in harassing and torturing these innocent citizens of the land in the manner described above, very shameful, reprehensible and most unworthy of a healthy democracy that Ghana has struggled to build the past 33 years.
The law enforcement processes should be deployed to deal with actual wrongdoing in accordance with due process and not utilised as a propagandist machinery for the Government by arresting and detaining leading members of the opposition as a way of purporting to give meaning to the Government’s failed ORAL promise.
I take note that the Attorney-General held a massive press conference last year, cited the Buffer Stock case as a major example of the ORAL drive, and vilified these same accused persons as having stolen money from the State when he had not even filed any charges against them.
EOCO’s move in rearresting the accused persons after charges had been withdrawn (after a whole year of subjecting the accused persons to unnecessary assassination of their character) is clearly a desperate attempt to save the face of the Attorney-General and sustain a false impression of a continuation of the Government’s failed ORAL promise.
The EOCO boss, Raymond Archer, must learn to operate in accordance with due process like his predecessors used to do. That important institution of State must not be turned into a rogue outfit for harassing and torturing innocent citizens extra judicially when the Government becomes frustrated by a failure to prove offences levelled against them in a court of law, as we have seen in the Buffer Stock.
I call on EOCO and the Attorney-General to release Hanan Abdul-Wahab and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, immediately.
This impunity must stop.
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