Lawyers for former National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Officer Hanan Abdul-Wahab have announced plans to commence contempt proceedings against the Attorney-General, Deputy Attorney-General Dr Justice Srem Sai, and the Director of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), arguing that their client’s arrest at the Accra International Airport violated a valid High Court order.
In a statement issued on Sunday, counsel for Abdul-Wahab, Godfred Yeboah Dame, described as false allegations made by Dr Srem Sai that the former NAFCO CEO attempted to use “false means” to access funds in a frozen Republic Bank account before travelling to the United Kingdom.
According to the legal team, the High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Achibonga, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, granted Abdul-Wahab permission on June 29 to travel to the UK from July 4 to July 12 for a scheduled medical appointment with his optician.
The lawyers said the application was granted after both the prosecution and defence had presented their arguments, insisting that the order was consistent with established judicial practice that allows accused persons standing trial to travel abroad for legitimate reasons, including medical treatment.
To support their position, the defence cited previous cases in which high-profile accused persons, including Dr Stephen Opuni, Seidu Agongo, Alhaji Collins Dauda, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and Dr Kwabena Duffuor, were granted permission by the courts to travel while their criminal cases were still pending.
The legal team also rejected claims that Abdul-Wahab attempted to withdraw money from a frozen bank account, challenging the Deputy Attorney-General to produce evidence of any such transaction.
“We challenge him to produce evidence of a withdrawal of any sum by our client from any of his bank accounts since the date of the court order,” the statement said.
According to the lawyers, there was no valid court order freezing Abdul-Wahab’s accounts at the time of the alleged incident. They argued that any previous freezing orders ceased to exist after the prosecution withdrew earlier charges against him on May 5, 2026, resulting in his discharge.
The statement further referred to a ruling by the High Court at Adentan on May 20, 2026, following fresh charges filed on May 15, which the defence said confirmed that the renewed prosecution constituted a fresh legal process, leaving no previous freezing order in force.
The lawyers disclosed that this legal position had already been communicated to the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) through a formal letter delivered approximately two weeks earlier.
Describing the airport arrest as a deliberate disregard for the authority of the High Court, the legal team accused the Attorney-General’s Office of misleading the public and unlawfully directing the BNI to arrest their client on allegations they maintain are unsupported by evidence.
They said contempt proceedings would be filed against the Attorney-General, his deputy and the Director of the BNI over what they described as a blatant and wilful violation of the court’s travel order.
