Manhyia South Member of Parliament and lawyer for detained senior nursing officer Salomey Baffoe Awiti, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has explained why he drove away from the Accra High Court after a confrontation with a woman he identified as an official of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
Speaking at a press briefing in Parliament on Wednesday, September 23, Mr Baffour Awuah said he feared he was being forcibly taken away after the woman allegedly asked him to get into an EOCO vehicle.
According to him, the woman could not immediately produce evidence identifying herself as an EOCO official or show him an arrest warrant, which made him suspicious of her intentions.
“I told her, go, I will follow you, then she said no, she would forcibly take me into their vehicle,” he said.
“At that point, she couldn’t produce any evidence that she was indeed from EOCO. I also wanted to know whether she had the arrest warrant. She also couldn’t produce anything. It became obvious to me that it was one of the recent kidnappings that have been happening.”
Mr Baffour Awuah said he therefore decided to drive to a place where he believed he would be safe, adding that he had a responsibility to protect himself, his family and his constituents.
“I had to defend and protect myself for the benefit of the good people of Manhyia South, my children and my whole family,” he said.
He explained that he also needed to remain available to represent Ms Baffoe Awiti, particularly because her bail application was being heard at the High Court.
“I needed to put myself at a place where I’ll be safe so that I could also protect and defend the interest of my client for the benefit of her children, particularly the four-year-old who is waiting for the release of her mother. And that is why I had to drive to safety,” he added.
Mr Baffour Awuah said he subsequently drove to Parliament, where he had committee work to attend to, and thanked his colleagues for their support.
The incident occurred after proceedings in Ms Baffoe Awiti’s bail application, which was adjourned to Thursday, September 24, after the prosecution requested more time to respond to the application.
Videos from the court premises showed a woman believed to be an EOCO official blocking the MP’s vehicle as he attempted to leave. A confrontation followed before members of his team cleared the way for him to drive off, with another vehicle reportedly following him.
Reports citing sources close to Mr Baffour Awuah said the attempted arrest was linked to allegations that he had failed to honour invitations from EOCO in connection with investigations into the “Ghana Jollof” TikTok account. The MP’s side, however, has denied receiving any such invitation.
EOCO had not publicly explained the circumstances surrounding the reported operation as of Wednesday afternoon.
