The Manhyia South MP, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has described a confrontation with people he identified as officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) at the Accra High Court as an attempted kidnapping.
The incident happened on Wednesday, September 23, after the MP went to court as a lawyer representing Salomey Baffoe, who is facing charges related to the Ghana Jollof TikTok account.
The reported attempt to arrest the MP is believed to be connected to claims that he had failed to respond to invitations from EOCO to help with investigations into the Ghana Jollof TikTok account.
However, people close to Nana Baffour Awuah say he never received any formal invitation from EOCO.
According to the MP, a woman approached him after the court proceedings and told him that he was needed at EOCO. She also claimed that he had previously been invited by the agency.
Nana Baffour Awuah said he asked the woman to identify herself and show him proof of the invitation. However, he said she was unable to convince him that she had the authority to take him to EOCO.
He explained that he became concerned about the situation and decided to leave because he believed he was in danger.
“It became obvious to me that it was one of the recent kidnappings that have been going on which is sponsored by the state and so at that point I needed to defend and protect myself for the benefit of the good people of Manhyia South who I serve, the Minority Caucus, my children and my whole family. I run from an attempted kidnap. She attempted to kidnap me whilst I was on my way to Parliament,” he said.
So far, EOCO has not publicly explained what happened or clarified the circumstances surrounding the reported attempt to arrest the MP.
The confrontation happened shortly after the High Court adjourned Salomey Baffoe’s bail application to Thursday, September 24.
The adjournment followed a request from the prosecution for more time to respond to the bail application.
