Legal practitioner and law lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Justice Abdulai, has said the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) should have secured a court order to arrest and detain Dennis Edward Aboagye.
According to him, curtailing the rights of Mr. Aboagye without a court order is an abuse, explaining that a formal court order would have made their actions more appropriate.
The lawyer, speaking on the arrest of the former Akuapim North Municipal Chief Executive on TV3’s Ghana Tonight on Monday, July 13, 2026, expressed his disagreement over the development, accusing security agencies as usually abusing people’s rights.
“I disagree with all these conducts taking place without the supervision of the court, –a formal court order. I do not think that these conducts are right,” he stated, explaining that such modus have been going on for years now, and it is not the right way to go.
“It’s been going on, admittedly, for well over a century and I think it’s practically a worldwide thing that arresting authorities would usually curtail your rights within a particular space and time without a court order.
“The right thing to do is to seek a court order in the event that they place a person under arrest so that you can curtail appropriately,” he stated.
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.
EOCO could have arrested Miracles Aboagye in a more civilised manner – Justice Abdulai
