Lawyer challenges two-week remand of Salomey over connection to wanted 'Ghana Jollof'

Lawyer for detained senior nursing officer Salomey Awity Baffoe, Enoch Afuakwa, has challenged the court’s decision to remand his client for two weeks, arguing that she had already been kept in custody for several days before being brought before the court.

Mr Afuakwa said Baffoe was arrested on Saturday night but was not arraigned until Wednesday, which he contends amounted to a breach of the constitutional 48-hour requirement for an arrested person to be brought before a court.

“This lady was detained in unlawful custody,” Mr Afuakwa said on Eyewitness News on Thursday, September 17, 2026, following the court’s decision to remand Baffoe for two weeks.

He argued that the Constitution permits law enforcement authorities to hold an arrested person for up to 48 hours before requiring a court appearance.

“Our constitution clearly states that when a person is arrested, restricted or detained, the law enforcement agencies are within their right to hold a person within 48 hours. If they intend to continue to hold the suspect beyond that 48 hours, they must arraign the person before a court of competent jurisdiction to determine whether or not to grant those orders.”

According to the lawyer, the state kept his client in custody from Saturday through Tuesday before taking her before the court on Wednesday.

“The state refused to catch this woman from Saturday night, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and arraigned her on Wednesday,” he said.

Mr Afuakwa said the defence raised the alleged violation before the trial court and opposed any further detention of his client.

“Upon all the prayers made by learned counsel for the accused person, our prayer did not find favour in the eyes of the court,” he said.

He also expressed concern about the decision to remand Baffoe despite submissions regarding her circumstances as a mother of three children, including a four-year-old.

“The state did not, the court did not weigh into the submission, in the interest of even the minors,” Afuakwa said.

The lawyer further questioned the basis for keeping Baffoe in custody in connection with the Ghana Jollof TikTok account, noting that the prosecution had informed the court that the individual behind the account was based in the United Kingdom.

Baffoe has pleaded not guilty to a charge of abetment of the publication of false news.

Mr Afuakwa said the defence would allow the prosecution to prove its allegations against his client, but maintained that the circumstances surrounding her arrest and continued detention raised serious legal concerns.

“The court, that was supposed to be the scale in the middle to uphold the rights of all persons, weighed into the arena of the state against the innocent citizen,” he said.