A former Director of the Ghana School of Law, Kwaku Ansa-Asare, says the law permits a suspect to resist arrest and engage in a scuffle with a security officer who fails to produce identification upon request.
He says the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) officer who attempted to arrest Manhyia South Member of Parliament, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, at the Accra High Court risked being knocked down by the MP’s vehicle and losing her life.
Speaking on Onua TV’s morning show, Maakye, with JB, on Thursday, September 24, 2026, Lawyer Ansa-Asare said the law gives a suspect the right to beat up a police officer or soldier who fails to show his ID when effecting an arrest, as it then becomes a scuffle.
“Also, if you’re a police or soldier and want to arrest someone and the person demands your ID and you don’t provide, the law gives the person the right to beat you if he can because it becomes a scuffle,” he stated.
Ansa-Asare explained that the EOCO official would have died on the account of the State if she had been overrun by the lawyer’s vehicle, following the scuffle that ensued between them at the court premises.
“Yesterday, if the lady had been overrun by the car and died, we would have said she was working for Ghana so there should be compensation. It would have been a useless death,” he indicated.
He said the incident should serve as a lesson to security agencies to always follow due process and properly identify themselves before effecting any arrest.
The lawyer’s remarks come on the back of a dramatic confrontation at the Accra High Court on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 between an EOCO official and a Member of Parliament who is also a lawyer.
EOCO officials attempted to arrest the MP shortly after he appeared as counsel social commentator Salomey Awiti Baffoe, who is facing charges linked to the ‘Ghana Jollof’ TikTok account.
A video circulating on social media showed a woman identifying herself as an EOCO official approaching the MP and asking him to accompany her to the EOCO office. The MP, however, questioned her authority and demanded to see her ID, which he claims she failed to produce.
The MP subsequently drove off to Parliament to seek sanctuary, describing the incident as “state-sponsored kidnapping.”
EOCO, in a statement later that day, said the attempted arrest was part of lawful steps to secure his attendance for an ongoing investigation after he failed to honour two invitations extended to him in February 2026.
The Office said the arrest was not completed after officers assessed that further action could endanger public safety, and added that it had identified two persons who allegedly facilitated the MP’s escape.
