A female officer from the Economic and Organised Crime Office was pushed aside and nearly run over by a vehicle during an attempt to arrest a lawmaker at the Accra High Court Complex on September 23, 2026.
The incident occurred as officers attempted to detain Manhyia South Member of Parliament and legal practitioner Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah while he was at court to represent a client.
Professor Ransford Gyampo, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority, spoke out against the handling of the officer during the confrontation.
Speaking on the Key Points show on TV3 on Saturday, September 26, Gyampo said that while the officer may have made mistakes, the reaction of the crowd was unacceptable.
"The EOCO officer may have acted wrongly, but I am shocked at the manner people encouraged the MP to push the lady aside to the extent that she was almost run over by the vehicle," Gyampo said.
Gyampo framed the issue around broader public attitudes toward women in authority.
"The battle for women's empowerment: if we don't come together to dissociate ourselves and condemn this, we will lose," Gyampo said on air. "If she didn't do what was right, I would condemn her, but the manner she was manhandled, I am surprised."
Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu also appeared on the panel on September 26 and argued that the attempted arrest violated basic legal procedure.
Kpebu stated that Ghanaian law allows citizens to resist arrests carried out without proper legal authority.
"It is lawful to resist an unlawful arrest," Kpebu said. "What the lady was doing there was wrong."
Kpebu stated that law enforcement officers must contact the Speaker of Parliament before attempting to detain a sitting lawmaker.
Section 20 requires any state agency planning an arrest of an MP to submit a formal application to the Speaker of Parliament first.
"EOCO was wrong in its approach," Kpebu said. "The safest thing was to have gone through the Speaker of Parliament. The best thing for EOCO to have done was to go through the Speaker."
Because the officers did not follow this rule, Kpebu argued that Baffour Awuah had full legal standing to refuse to be taken into custody at the court premises.
"He was right; there was no way you could give any other interpretation to it," Kpebu added.
Kpebu also addressed his political record during the broadcast, stating that backing President John Dramani Mahama in the 2024 general elections would not prevent him from challenging executive overreach.
He emphasized that procedural violations against members of the New Patriotic Party must be opposed regardless of which political party holds power.
"We are building a strong society; we sat here and criticised the Akufo-Addo government, but it doesn't mean I support anything the Mahama administration does," Kpebu said.
He noted that state institutions must remember that arresting an MP requires explicit communication through the Speaker of Parliament.
The Ghana Bar Association also condemned the incident at the court complex.
In an official statement issued on September 24, 2026, the association expressed deep concern over the attempted arrest of Baffour Awuah while he was actively serving a client.
The statement was jointly signed by GBA National President Mrs. Efua Ghartey and National Secretary Kwaku Gyau Baffour.
The association noted that video footage of the incident recorded another lawyer, Mr. Enoch Anhwere Afoakwa, complaining that an operative assaulted him.
EOCO later confirmed that the operative involved in the altercation with Afoakwa was an officer of the agency.
The Bar Association stated that while no citizen is above the law, enforcement actions involving lawyers on court duty must strictly respect constitutional guarantees and legal independence.
Bypassing standard procedures creates a perception of intimidation and produces a chilling effect across the legal profession, the statement warned.
It added that obstructing lawyers through arbitrary or irregular methods undermines public confidence in the judicial system and the rule of law.
The association pointed to earlier warnings raised by its leadership concerning the treatment of lawyers by state security forces.
At the 2025 annual GBA conference in Wa, Mrs. Ghartey stated that lawyers must be allowed to defend clients without fear of harassment, noting that intimidation risks discouraging lawyers from providing pro bono services.
Mrs. Ghartey raised similar concerns at the GBA Virtual Mid-Year Conference on June 5, 2026, referencing the overnight detention of former Bar Vice President Justice Minka Premo and his associate, a nursing mother, at the Bureau of National Investigations.
The association questioned why officers chose overnight detention at the BNI instead of issuing a formal invitation, stating that such actions leave unanswered questions about institutional respect for constitutional rights.
In its September 24 statement, the GBA urged EOCO and all state institutions to conduct operations with respect for due process, individual rights, and procedural fairness.
The association noted that maintaining the independence of legal professionals remains an essential requirement for preserving democracy in Ghana.
According to 3News.
