Manhyia South Member of Parliament and lawyer Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah has warned against attempts by state agencies to arrest lawyers within court premises, describing the incident involving him at the Accra High Court as a dangerous precedent.
According to him, the courts represent the authority of the judiciary and state institutions must exercise caution when seeking to arrest lawyers who are on court premises performing their professional duties.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Mr Baffour Awuah said he believed the incident was unprecedented in Ghana’s legal history.
“It has never happened in our history that the government has attempted to arrest a lawyer in court. The court represents judicial authority, and so, in the strict sense of separation of powers, the state should not cross the precinct of the court to arrest a lawyer,” he said.
His comments follow an incident on September 23, when officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) attempted to take him into custody at the Accra High Court after he appeared as counsel for a client.
The attempted arrest led to a confrontation and was subsequently condemned by the Ghana Bar Association.
Mr Baffour Awuah later described the action as unlawful and questioned the manner in which the EOCO official approached him.
EOCO subsequently secured a High Court warrant authorising his arrest after informing the court that it had exhausted reasonable means of securing his attendance for questioning.
The MP eventually reported himself to EOCO on October 1 and was arrested while cooperating with investigators.
The case concerns alleged unauthorised financial transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans. He has since been charged with offences including financial loss and money laundering and has pleaded not guilty.
Reflecting on the matter, Mr Baffour Awuah said his experience should not become a precedent for how similar cases are handled in the future.
“I am the first to suffer that; the first MP to be kept in custody for two days after turning myself in. I may have suffered it, but I won’t say it should be done to someone else because we are setting a bad precedent,” he said.
He said the issue goes beyond his personal experience and should prompt broader reflection on the separation of powers and public confidence in Ghana’s justice system.
Mr Baffour Awuah also expressed concern about the broader economic environment, arguing that Ghana needs conditions that allow businesses and individuals to work and contribute to national development.
“In building and developing the country, we need people who will use their sweat and blood to toil for the nation,” he said.
“But we are creating an environment where people are filled with pain and bitterness. Our businessmen are not even progressing, which is not good.”
He called for an end to what he considers an inappropriate practice of arresting lawyers within court premises, warning that allowing such conduct to continue could have wider consequences for the justice system.
“We must put a stop to this; if not, the consequences will not be good for us in future. God will help us,” he said.
