The Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress, Mustapha Foyo Gbande, has made a startling admission that he personally instructed the Economic and Organised Crime Office to arrest the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah. This development is likely to intensify the political controversy surrounding the legislator’s recent confrontation with the state’s investigative authorities. Mr Gbande acknowledged that he met the leadership of EOCO and explicitly told the agency’s boss to take the Manhyia South legislator into custody.
Mr Gbande's admission is particularly striking because it places a senior official of the governing NDC directly at the centre of a matter involving the arrest, detention and subsequent prosecution of an opposition Member of Parliament. He stated during an interview on JoyNews that he told EOCO to arrest Mr Baffour Awuah, citing what he regarded as the conduct of the Manhyia South MP in relation to invitations from a state investigative institution. Mr Gbande maintained that his position was informed by a security perspective.
According to Mr Gbande, permitting individuals to disregard invitations from law enforcement authorities and then publicly challenge those institutions to arrest them could gradually weaken the authority of the state. He reinforced his admission during an appearance on JoyNews Pulse, arguing that his intervention was made from a security perspective. Mr Gbande declared that he met the EOCO boss and told him to arrest Mr Baffour Awuah.
The extraordinary nature of the statement has immediately raised the political temperature surrounding the case because the admission came from a prominent official of the governing party while the person whose arrest he said he demanded is a sitting legislator belonging to the opposition New Patriotic Party. Mr Gbande nonetheless insisted that political affiliation should have no bearing on whether a person responds to a lawful investigative process.
He argued that anybody summoned by a law enforcement institution in connection with an alleged offence should cooperate with investigators irrespective of political status or public office. In his view, no elected representative or political operative should regard himself as being beyond the reach of Ghanaian law. Mr Gbande also turned the argument towards his own position, stressing that his political office did not make him superior to the laws of the Republic.
The controversy surrounding the Manhyia South MP dates back to September 23, 2026, when EOCO officers attempted to take him into custody at the Accra High Court. The agency subsequently explained that the operation formed part of an investigation and followed invitations issued to the legislator earlier in February. EOCO said it had made efforts to secure his attendance and eventually abandoned the attempted arrest after assessing that continuing the operation could create a threat to public safety.
The MP eventually reported himself to EOCO on October 1, accompanied by his lawyers, and was subsequently placed under arrest and questioned as investigators proceeded with the case. The High Court granted Mr Baffour Awuah GH¢10 million bail with two sureties on October 3, directing him to remain available to investigators while the investigation continues.
Key points
- Mustapha Gbande instructed EOCO to arrest Baffour Awuah.
- The arrest is related to an investigation into alleged unauthorised financial transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans.
- Baffour Awuah was granted GH¢10 million bail with two sureties on October 3.
