The controversy surrounding the Economic and Organised Crime Office’s attempted arrest of Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah has taken another turn, with Professor Ransford Gyampo arguing that concerns about the officer’s conduct should not be used to justify the physical treatment she received during the confrontation.
Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points on Saturday, September 26, Prof. Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, said the female EOCO officer might have handled aspects of the operation wrongly, but he was disturbed by the manner in which she was pushed aside as the confrontation escalated.
Gyampo’s position was not an unqualified defence of EOCO’s operation. He agreed that the timing of the attempted arrest was problematic and said EOCO could have anticipated the consequences and chosen a more appropriate moment to act.
At the same time, he criticised the treatment of the female officer, saying:
“The EOCO officer may have acted wrongly, but I am shocked at the manner people encouraged the MP to push the lady aside.”
Gyampo linked his concern to the wider discussion about respect for women and women’s empowerment, while maintaining that any wrongdoing by the officer could still be condemned separately.
The confrontation occurred at the Accra High Court complex on September 23.
Ghana News Agency reported that a female EOCO official approached Nana Baffour Awuah before he entered his vehicle. As the vehicle was leaving, the officer attempted to open its door, and the encounter became tense.
EOCO subsequently confirmed that its officers were attempting to arrest the MP in connection with an ongoing investigation. The agency said it had invited him on two occasions in February 2026 to assist with the investigation and that those invitations were not honoured. EOCO described the September 23 operation as one of the lawful steps taken to secure his attendance.
EOCO said its officers eventually abandoned the attempt after concluding that further action in the escalating situation could endanger public safety.
Nana Baffour Awuah has challenged important aspects of EOCO’s version of events.
The MP said the woman who approached him did not adequately establish her identity or authority when he requested identification and documentation. He said this caused him to fear that he was facing an attempted abduction.
EOCO, however, maintains that its officers were acting in the lawful discharge of their responsibilities. It has also stressed that being an MP does not by itself place an individual outside an investigation, while saying it will respect parliamentary privilege and other constitutional protections.
These competing accounts remain important: EOCO characterises the incident as an attempted lawful arrest, while the MP disputes how the process was communicated and carried out.
Prof. Gyampo is not the only commentator to raise questions about how the operation was conducted.
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu described the officer’s conduct as unprofessional and questioned the timing of the operation. He argued that law-enforcement actions should follow established procedures and be carried out professionally.
Security consultant Richard Kumadoe similarly said the confrontation appeared to involve a breakdown in communication and argued that proper identification, due process and restraint could have prevented the situation from escalating.
The controversy raises two distinct questions.
One concerns whether EOCO followed appropriate procedures and exercised sound judgment in the timing and execution of the attempted arrest. That issue can be scrutinised through the applicable law, EOCO’s procedures and the available evidence.
The other concerns how people responded physically once the confrontation began. Criticism of an officer’s professional conduct does not, by itself, resolve whether every action taken against that officer was appropriate or lawful.
Prof. Gyampo’s intervention essentially asks the public to consider both questions rather than treating criticism of one side as automatic justification for the conduct of the other.
With video footage circulating publicly and EOCO saying it is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident, establishing the complete sequence of events and applying the relevant law will be important to resolving the competing claims.
For institutions entrusted with law enforcement, professionalism, clear identification, proportionality and respect for due process are crucial to public confidence. Equally, disagreements over an officer’s conduct should be addressed through lawful processes rather than unnecessary physical confrontation.
Moment of Wisdom; Time for Wisdom.
