Lawyers for Hanan Abdul-Wahab have threatened to file contempt of court proceedings against top state officials following his arrest at Accra’s main international airport, which they say directly violated a judicial order allowing him to travel.
The legal team, led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, accused the current Attorney-General’s office and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) of operating with impunity.
The dispute centers on a Facebook post published on Saturday by Deputy Attorney-General Dr. Srem Sai, which sought to justify the arrest. Dr. Sai claimed Mr. Abdul-Wahab was detained after attempting to use “false means” to withdraw money from a frozen bank account at Republic Bank.
However, Mr. Dame’s law firm issued a sharp rebuttal on Sunday, describing the state’s claims as a “lame attempt to cover up a deplorable violation” of the law.
According to the defense team, the High Court had explicitly granted Mr. Abdul-Wahab permission on June 29 to travel to the United Kingdom between July 4 and July 12 for a medical appointment with an optician.
The travel order was granted by Justice Achibonga after hearing arguments from both sides, including Dr. Sai.
“The allegation that our client attempted to empty his frozen bank account is simply untrue,” the statement said, challenging the Deputy Attorney-General to produce any evidence of a withdrawal.
The defense further argued that there is currently no valid court order freezing Mr. Abdul-Wahab’s finances.
While his accounts were blocked during a previous investigation last year, those initial criminal charges were withdrawn on May 5, which legal counsel argues automatically lapsed the freezing order.
Although the state filed fresh charges on May 15, the defense cited a subsequent ruling by the Adentan High Court on May 20, which noted that the fresh prosecution constituted a new process and implied no active freezing order remained in place.
Mr. Dame stated that formal letters outlining this legal position had been delivered to the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) two weeks prior to the incident.
The legal team described the arrest as part of a broader pattern of “persistent harassment” against citizens and confirmed they are initiating contempt proceedings against the Attorney-General, the Deputy Attorney-General, and the Director of the BNI.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana