An Accra High Court has granted the Economic and Organised Crime Office a warrant to arrest the MP for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.
This follows an application by lawyers for the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO).
EOCO’s lawyers told the court its officers have exhausted reasonable means of securing the legislators voluntary attendance.
They added that they feared that documents relevant to investigations could be concealed, altered or destroyed hence the request for a warrant to arrest him as well as to search and seize relevant documents. We are also learning this afternoon that another member of parliament also on the minority side is a subject of these same investigations relating to SIC life savings and loans.
Background
The warrant marks a major escalation in a standoff that has been playing out since February 2026.
EOCO says it is investigating alleged financial irregularities at SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited. The Office says it invited the MP twice in February in his capacity as Senior Partner of his law firm, Sarkodie Baffour Awuah & Partners, which was engaged by SIC Life to recover funds.
The MP has maintained that he has never been the subject of the investigation. In statements issued after an attempted arrest at the Accra High Court Complex on September 23, he said the February 10 invitation was addressed to the Senior Partner of the firm to assist with inquiries concerning its client, SIC Life Savings and Loans.
He said by the time the letter arrived he had become an MP and had therefore referred the matter to the Clerk to Parliament for advice on February 18. According to him, a lawful representative of the firm subsequently cooperated with EOCO on three occasions – March 4, March 18 and April 30 – and submitted a formal written statement on April 30, 2026.
He contends there was no further invitation until the attempted arrest. EOCO, led by Executive Director Raymond Archer, disputes that account.
The Office said the attempted arrest at the High Court, shortly after the MP had appeared as counsel for a client in the Ghana Jollof case, was a lawful step to secure his attendance after he ignored the two invitations.
EOCO cited Section 19 of the Economic and Organised Crime Office Act, 2010 (Act 804) in its invitation letter. The September 23 incident drew sharp criticism from the Ghana Bar Association, which described the manner of the attempted arrest as unprofessional and warned that enforcement actions involving lawyers, especially when representing clients in court, must respect due process and professional independence.
Majority Leader James Agalga also argued that EOCO should have routed any request concerning a sitting MP through the Speaker of Parliament. In explaining the transaction at the heart of the probe, Baffour Awuah has said SIC Life Savings and Loans had invested about GH¢3.5 million with the defunct Equity Savings and Loans, which defaulted, with the liability growing with interest to about GH¢14 million.
His firm was then instructed to recover the amount. EOCO has not publicly detailed its specific allegations regarding that recovery. Reports circulating on Tuesday suggested investigators are probing claims of a 15 percent legal fee arrangement and alleged payments linked to the then management of SIC Life. Those claims remain allegations under investigation.
The warrant now gives EOCO judicial backing to arrest the legislator and to conduct a search and seizure operation for relevant documents. Efforts to reach the MP and EOCO for further comment on the new warrant were ongoing at press time.
By Joseph Ackah-Blay
