A law lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Justice Abdulai, has said the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) could have effected the arrest of Dennis Edward Aboagye, in a manner that wouldn’t have created any polemic.
Justice Abdulai believes the mode of arrest is what has generated the ongoing debate and controversy, and not his arrest itself.
Speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 Monday, July 13, 2026, the law lecturer said there was no need picking up the former Akuapem North Municipal Chief Executive at the airport when he has been cooperating with ongoing investigations for over a year now.
According to him, Aboagye has not exhibited anything that indicates he wants to escape prosecution.
“His arrest could have been effected in a more civilised and prudent manner that would not have sparked these kinds of controversies and debates. If the person has been under investigation for over a year and he has been cooperating and he hasn’t done anything to suggest that he is escaping any possible prosecution,” he asserted.
He suggested that the EOCO could have invited him to their premises and detain him, if they wanted to, rather than using an approach that has generated a lot of controversy.
“He had left the country and he is on his way back, why the need on rushing to arrest him? What could he have done so wrong that he couldn’t have been called to report to EOCO and possibly detained?” he quizzed.
Dennis Edward ‘Miracles’ Aboagye, an aide to the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, was arrested by EOCO at the Accra International Airport upon his return from abroad.
According to EOCO, the arrest is linked to alleged financial and procurement-related irregularities involving about GH¢55 million during his tenure as Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCOD).
He was arrested alongside the Secretariat’s former accountant, Gerald Appiah, as part of ongoing investigations into the alleged irregularities.
He has since been granted a GH¢50 million bail with three sureties, two of which must be justified with properties of equivalent value.
This has drawn criticism from the NPP, with the party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, cautioning the government against what he described as the “Rambo-style” arrest of opposition figures.
EOCO has stated that Mr Appiah has voluntarily begun refunding some of the funds connected to the alleged offences, but noted that the recoveries do not conclude the investigations or absolve any suspect of criminal liability.
The Office assured the public that it would continue to conduct the investigations professionally, impartially and within the law while respecting the constitutional rights of all persons under investigation. It added that further updates on the case would be provided as and when appropriate.
