EOCO's explanation on Miracles Aboagye arrest meets transparency test — Kwaku Azar

Legal scholar and social commentator Professor Stephen Kwaku Asare, popularly known as Kwaku Azar, has commended the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for issuing a statement explaining the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Dennis Miracles Aboagye.

His comments follow EOCO's statement on Monday, July 13, which confirmed the arrest of Miracles Aboagye, an aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, over investigations into alleged financial and procurement-related irregularities at the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD).

EOCO, in its statement, said Miracles Aboagye and former IMCCoD Accountant Gerald Appiah are being investigated over suspected offences including conspiracy to steal, stealing, causing financial loss to the state, money laundering and other alleged financial crimes involving about GH¢55 million.

The development comes after Prof. Azar had earlier criticised the silence of law enforcement agencies in high-profile arrests, urging EOCO to communicate transparently to preserve public confidence in state institutions.

In a follow-up post on the same day, Prof. Azar said EOCO's explanation met the transparency standards he had earlier outlined for constitutionally compliant arrests.

"It substantially satisfies the transparency criteria earlier outlined for constitutionally compliant arrests," he wrote.

He added that the approach adopted by EOCO should become the standard for all law enforcement agencies when making arrests.

"This should become the standard protocol for all arrests by law enforcement agencies. GOGO commends EOCO for this approach," Prof. Azar stated.

In his earlier post, the legal scholar argued that while EOCO has the statutory authority to investigate and arrest persons suspected of economic and organised crimes, the manner in which those powers are exercised is equally important in a constitutional democracy.

"...in a constitutional democracy, the existence of the power is only half the story. The equally important question is how that power is exercised," he wrote.