UG Lecturer Takes On EOCO: Miracles’ Arrest Shows Weaponised Bail, Lazy Investigations

Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Political Science Department, Dr. Joshua Ebuntie Zaato, has accused the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) of mishandling the arrest of Dennis Miracles Aboagye, arguing that the agency failed to justify its actions despite the former government official’s full cooperation.

Speaking on Citi FM’s The Big Issue on Saturday, July 18, Dr. Zaato said state investigative bodies under the current administration have increasingly weaponised bail conditions to punish political opponents or individuals under investigation.

“There is a question we have to ask about state coercive agencies, about state investigative agencies. In recent times and especially since this government came into power, have these agencies weaponised bail conditions to punish political opponents or to punish people under investigations? The answer is yes,” he said.

Dr. Zaato pointed to EOCO’s own public statement, which acknowledged that Mr. Aboagye — former Executive Secretary of the Inter‑Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD) — had been cooperating with investigators from the outset. He argued that EOCO failed to show any evidence that he posed a flight risk or had refused to honour invitations.

“EOCO demonstrated their own incompetence and how lazy they are in this particular case, and it is contained in their own statement they released,” he stated.

He questioned why EOCO arrested Mr. Aboagye at the Accra International Airport after he voluntarily returned to Ghana, fully aware that he was under investigation.

“You have a citizen doing what every patriot must do to cooperate with state agencies… He willingly came back knowing that he is being investigated. So what was the reason for picking him up in that Rambo style and keeping him there for three, four days?” he asked.

Miracles, an aide to NPP flagbearer Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, was arrested alongside IMCCoD’s former accountant, Gerald Appiah, as part of EOCO’s probe into alleged financial and procurement irregularities involving about GH¢55 million.

Mr. Aboagye has since been granted GH¢50 million bail with three sureties — two to be justified — after meeting the conditions. Investigations remain ongoing.