Release ex-Buffer Stock CEO and wife immediately — Afenyo-Markin to EOCO, AG

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Osahen Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) and the Attorney-General to immediately release former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company, Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba, and his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni.

The couple, who have been facing trial for about a year over alleged corruption, were re-arrested shortly after the Attorney-General withdrew all charges against them on Tuesday, May 5, citing new evidence.

The case involves alleged irregularities in the procurement and supply of foodstuffs under the national school feeding programme, with earlier claims of a financial loss of about GH¢78 million to the state.

Reacting to the development in a statement shared on Wednesday, the Effutu MP described the re-arrest as unjustified and an abuse of due process.

“The needless and face-saving arrest followed one year of arraignment of the two accused persons… on charges whose weakness and frivolity were exposed by defence counsel,” he said.

The Effutu MP further alleged that the conduct of EOCO and the Attorney-General undermines the country’s democratic principles.

“I find the conduct of EOCO, the Attorney-General and the Government as a whole, in harassing and torturing these innocent citizens… very shameful, reprehensible and most unworthy of a healthy democracy,” he stated.

Osahen Afenyo-Markin also claimed that the couple had been denied access to their lawyers and kept in custody despite previously being granted bail by the court.

He urged the authorities to respect due process and immediately release the two, stating that “this impunity must stop.”