Dafeamekpor Demands Due Process In Attempted Arrest Of Manhyia South MP
Majority Chief Whip and South Dayi Member of Parliament, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to follow due process in dealing with Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.
His comments follow an attempted arrest of the Manhyia South legislator at the Accra High Court on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, after proceedings in the bail application of Salomey Awiti Baffoe.
EOCO has confirmed the attempted arrest, saying it formed part of an ongoing investigation.
In a statement, Mr Dafeamekpor cited Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides protection against the service or execution of civil or criminal process on the Speaker, a Member of Parliament or the Clerk to Parliament while the person is on the way to, attending or returning from parliamentary proceedings.
He argued that the constitutional protection has, in practice, been interpreted to require the established parliamentary procedure to be followed when law-enforcement authorities seek to take action against a sitting MP.
Mr Dafeamekpor therefore described the reported attempt to arrest Mr Baffour Awuah within the precincts of the court as unacceptable if the required parliamentary procedures were not observed.
He said law-enforcement agencies, including EOCO, must conduct their activities in a manner that respects Parliament as a co-equal arm of government.
“Where a law provides a procedure for a right to be exercised, it’s only that procedure that must be followed,” Mr Dafeamekpor said, citing the case of Boyefio v NTHC.
He further stated that Parliament would resist any attempt to breach what he described as the established protocol and cordial relationship between Parliament and other state institutions.
Mr Dafeamekpor also pointed to the ongoing ECOWAS Parliament conference being hosted at Parliament House in Accra, arguing that incidents involving alleged procedural impropriety could affect Ghana’s image domestically and internationally.
He stressed that if the Manhyia South MP is alleged to have committed an offence for which his presence is required by EOCO, the appropriate legal process should be followed.
“Let the law speak but let the law follow lawful procedure in Article 117 in doing so,” he said.
EOCO, meanwhile, has said Mr Baffour Awuah had been invited on two occasions in February 2026 to assist with an ongoing investigation but did not honour the invitations.
The anti-graft agency described the attempted arrest as one of the lawful steps taken to secure his attendance.
EOCO has also said it respects the constitutional privileges and immunities of Members of Parliament but stressed that parliamentary membership does not, by itself, bring an investigation to an end or place an MP beyond the reach of the law.
-Overseeronline.com
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