Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to redirect greater attention towards the financiers and organisers behind Ghana-linked drug trafficking networks.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, October 1, the Effutu MP said the fight against narcotics trafficking required investigators to pursue the individuals who finance and coordinate such operations rather than concentrating disproportionately on political actors.
His comments followed the detention of the Manhyia South MP, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, by EOCO as part of an investigation into transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans.
Baffour Awuah voluntarily reported to EOCO on October 1, accompanied by his lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, and other Members of Parliament, after the Accra High Court issued a warrant authorising his arrest and searches for documents connected to the investigation.
EOCO had told the court that it had exhausted reasonable efforts to secure the MP’s voluntary attendance.
Afenyo-Markin, however, questioned the circumstances surrounding the warrant and subsequent detention, while insisting that the Minority was not seeking to interfere with the substantive investigation.
“We do not by this seek to prejudge the SIC Life Savings & Loans investigation. No one is above the law, EOCO included,” he said.
He argued that the handling of Baffour Awuah’s case raised concerns about the treatment of opposition figures and called for the same level of urgency to be applied to major organised narcotics networks.
Afenyo-Markin also disputed the suggestion that the Manhyia South MP had deliberately avoided EOCO.
According to him, Baffour Awuah had referred earlier invitations from EOCO to the Clerk of Parliament, but the agency allegedly did not recognise the correspondence.
He questioned why EOCO proceeded to seek an arrest warrant without, in his view, subsequently engaging the Speaker of Parliament.
“On what basis, then, did it reportedly claim to have exhausted reasonable means of securing his attendance? It is regrettable that a false impression is being created that the MP deliberately avoided EOCO,” he said.
The Minority Leader stressed that his concerns did not amount to an attempt to shield the MP from investigation, adding that the law should apply to all persons and institutions.
He nevertheless maintained that EOCO’s resources should be directed towards uncovering the financial and organisational structures supporting Ghana-linked drug trafficking operations, including those who bankroll and coordinate the networks.
