OccupyGhana has called on the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI) and other investigative bodies exercising police powers to stop turning investigations into punishment, insisting that the fight against corruption must be conducted within the limits of the law.
In a press release issued in Accra on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, the pressure group said recent developments involving account freezes, agency-imposed bail, travel restrictions, reporting requirements and arrests raised serious concerns about due process and constitutional safeguards.
OccupyGhana said its position was based principally on court records and information already in the public domain, stressing that it was not a party to any of the matters discussed and had not been engaged or paid by any party or individual.
The organisation also emphasised that whether an offence had been committed remained a matter for the courts to determine.
OccupyGhana’s position
OccupyGhana said it had, since 2014, consistently fought to protect and recover public funds and had previously gone to the Supreme Court in a case that resulted in the Auditor-General being compelled to disallow and surcharge unlawful expenditure.
According to the group, public funds that had been misapplied, misused or misappropriated must be recovered and persons responsible prosecuted, regardless of their political affiliation.
However, it said its method had always been to pursue such objectives through the law and, for that reason, investigative agencies responsible for fighting economic crime should also be held to the same legal standards.
The group said its principal concern was due process, which it argued must protect every person under investigation regardless of political party, social status or financial means.
Sesi-Edem case raises concerns
OccupyGhana cited several recent cases to illustrate what it described as a troubling pattern.
It referred to the case involving Sesi-Edem Company Limited, saying that in March 2026 the High Court found that EOCO had frozen the company’s accounts over a contractual dispute and had acted outside its mandate.
According to the background information accompanying the statement, EOCO had frozen the company’s accounts in November and December 2025 following a petition arising from a gold supply contract.
EOCO subsequently obtained an ex parte confirmation order on January 30, 2026. However, on March 19, the High Court at Adentan revoked the confirmation and ordered that the accounts be unfrozen.
The court held that the dispute was contractual, that EOCO had disclosed no fraud or money laundering, and that the agency had acted outside its mandate and breached Sesi-Edem’s right to administrative justice.
OccupyGhana said EOCO declared the company’s directors wanted on March 30, but the High Court on April 14 restrained the agency from maintaining the declaration or interfering with the directors’ liberties pending determination of the substantive application.
Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba case
OccupyGhana also cited the case of former National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) Chief Executive Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba.
The organisation said BNI officers arrested Aludiba at the airport in July 2026, days after the High Court had permitted him to travel to London for medical treatment.
The background note states that Aludiba said EOCO had held him for more than two weeks in 2025 on a GH¢60 million bail condition.
It further states that after the Attorney-General withdrew charges against him on May 5, 2026, EOCO re-arrested him and his wife.
On June 29, the High Court permitted Aludiba to travel to London for medical treatment. On July 4, BNI officers arrested him at the airport after he had cleared immigration and later transferred him to EOCO.
His wife subsequently applied for habeas corpus. Aludiba was released after four days and said he had been denied access to his lawyers until the final day.
The Attorney-General, according to the document, alleged that Aludiba had attempted to use false means to access a frozen account, an allegation he denied.
Concerns over agency-imposed bail
OccupyGhana further raised concerns about bail conditions imposed by investigative agencies rather than courts.
It said suspects had reportedly remained in custody because they could not meet bail conditions of up to GH¢150 million.
According to the background note, bail conditions imposed by EOCO and the BNI in high-profile financial cases had reportedly ranged from GH¢10 million to GH¢150 million.
Some suspects had been unable to meet the conditions, resulting in lawyers seeking variations from the High Court.
The document also notes that a writ filed at the Supreme Court on May 20, 2026, seeks a declaration that security agencies lack authority to set bail conditions without the courts.
OccupyGhana cited the Ghana Bar Association’s concerns about excessive bail, noting that its president had said bail should be reasonable, proportionate and consistent with the presumption of innocence.
The group also referenced concerns expressed by CDD-Ghana and the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP).
Arrests over speech
The organisation also referred to concerns over arrests under false-news provisions.
It said the Media Foundation for West Africa had reported a sharp rise in arrests under false-news provisions.
OccupyGhana stressed that whatever the allegation involved, the same safeguards should apply, arguing that an arrest must follow the law and must not itself become the punishment.
The background note says the Media Foundation for West Africa reported on May 21, 2026, that there had been more arrests under false-news provisions in the first 16 months of the current administration than in the previous eight years. It cited Section 76 of Act 775 and Sections 207 and 208 of Act 29.
PDS investigation
OccupyGhana described the investigation involving Power Distribution Services (PDS) Ghana Ltd as a particularly important illustration of its concerns.
According to the organisation, EOCO froze about 66 accounts belonging to PDS and individuals linked to the company in April 2026.
Persons affected, it said, had also alleged that accounts belonging to businesses with no connection to PDS were frozen.
The organisation said that on April 30, the BNI detained a PDS director and the company’s project director for two days and imposed bail of GH¢50 million each.
On May 6, their bail was reportedly doubled to GH¢100 million each despite no charge having been laid and no reported change in the suspected offences.
The two officials were also restricted from travelling outside Ghana.
Lawyers detained
The case also involved two lawyers who accompanied their clients to the BNI.
OccupyGhana said the lawyers were subsequently identified as “persons of interest”, detained overnight and prevented from acting for their clients.
They were granted bail of GH¢50 million each with two sureties.
According to the lawyers, they were questioned about professional fees and their personal and law-firm accounts were subsequently frozen.
They also said the firm’s partners were placed on a no-fly watchlist.
OccupyGhana said that regardless of the merits of the underlying investigation, action against lawyers for representing clients raised a fundamental concern because the right to counsel was a safeguard for everyone.
Three-times-a-week reporting
The organisation further said that since May, the two PDS officials and the lawyers had reportedly been required to report to EOCO three times every week.
It estimated that this amounted to about 60 attendances for each person to date, while no one had been charged.
PDS subsequently filed an application for judicial review on August 27, 2026, which was awaiting a hearing date.
The company also said a letter from its lawyers to the Attorney-General had not been acknowledged.
Disputed GH¢850 million allegation
OccupyGhana said the State alleged that the investigation concerned the “stealing” of GH¢850 million from a CalBank account allegedly belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
EOCO had cited a petition alleging fraud involving insurance guarantees, suspicious transactions and the risk that assets could be dissipated.
PDS, however, said an arbitral tribunal had rejected the guarantee allegation.
OccupyGhana said the allegations were serious and should be properly investigated, but argued that the seriousness of an allegation could not, by itself, justify indefinite restrictions, excessive bail or departure from constitutional safeguards.
Questions for EOCO, BNI and Attorney-General
OccupyGhana raised a number of questions it said required answers from EOCO, the BNI and the Attorney-General.
These include what legal and evidential threshold must be met before an investigative agency freezes an account and how long such a freeze can continue without a charge.
It also questioned the legal basis for bail being imposed or doubled by an investigative agency when no charge had been laid and the underlying allegations had not changed.
The group asked whether lawyers could be detained, prevented from representing clients, questioned about professional fees and subjected to asset freezes or travel restrictions simply because they represented persons under investigation.
It also questioned whether open-ended reporting requirements and travel restrictions could be imposed on persons who had not been charged.
Finally, it asked what new evidence and lawful basis could justify treating a dispute as a criminal matter where an underlying dispute had already been considered by an arbitral tribunal.
Six demands from OccupyGhana
OccupyGhana called for six measures.
First, it demanded that suspects be charged where sufficient evidence existed or released where there was not.
It said that where evidence was insufficient, freezes, bail conditions, reporting requirements and travel restrictions should be lifted without delay.
Second, it called for respect for the right to counsel, saying investigative agencies must not punish lawyers for representing their clients and that court orders and constitutional rights must be respected.
Third, it called for courts to determine bail, arguing that bail should be reasonable, proportionate and capable of being met while securing attendance.
Fourth, it called for greater respect for legal limits on account freezes, saying freezes should only be used where legally justified and necessary, should not extend to unrelated accounts and should not continue indefinitely.
Fifth, it urged the courts to deal expeditiously with pending cases, including the PDS judicial review and the Supreme Court action concerning agency-imposed bail.
Sixth, it called for stronger parliamentary oversight of how EOCO and the BNI exercise their powers.
The group also called on the Attorney-General, as the minister responsible for EOCO, to review the use of freezing orders, agency-imposed bail and reporting conditions in current investigations and publicly respond to petitions and correspondence before the Office.
Constitutional safeguards
OccupyGhana’s background note cited several provisions of Ghana’s Constitution in support of its position.
Article 14(2), it said, requires an arrested or detained person to be informed of the reasons for the arrest or detention and of the right to a lawyer of their choice.
Article 14(3) provides that a person arrested and not released must be brought before a court within 48 hours.
Article 18(2) protects property from interference except in accordance with law and as necessary in a free and democratic society.
Article 19(2)(c) establishes the presumption of innocence for a person charged with a criminal offence.
Article 23 requires administrative bodies and officials to act fairly and reasonably and comply with the law, while Article 296 requires discretionary power to be exercised fairly and candidly rather than arbitrarily, capriciously or with bias.
EOCO Act provisions
The organisation also referred to provisions of the Economic and Organised Crime Office Act, 2010 (Act 804).
According to the document, Section 33(2) requires the Executive Director to apply to the court to confirm an administrative freeze within 14 days.
Section 38(1) provides that a freezing order lapses after 12 months unless the court fixes a later date.
Section 38(2), according to the background note, requires the court to order the release of frozen property where the person under investigation is not charged within 12 months after the investigation began.
The document also cites Section 19(4), which provides that a person appearing before EOCO has the right to be represented by counsel of their choice at any stage of the process.
Independent concerns
OccupyGhana also cited concerns expressed by other organisations.
It said CDD-Ghana’s February 2026 assessment of the government’s first year recorded complaints that EOCO had abused its discretion over detention and bail, while on July 11, 2026, the organisation called for greater transparency and respect for due process.
The Ghana Bar Association, according to the document, adopted a resolution at its Mid-year Conference on June 5 concerning excessive bail conditions imposed by investigative and prosecutorial authorities.
At its Annual Conference on September 14, the GBA President reportedly said bail must be reasonable, proportionate and consistent with the presumption of innocence.
ACEP’s Executive Director, meanwhile, warned that reporting conditions in the PDS investigation risked becoming punishment.
OccupyGhana vows continued scrutiny
OccupyGhana said it would continue to follow the matters and report publicly on responses from the relevant authorities.
The organisation maintained that its concern was not opposition to investigations or the fight against corruption, but the manner in which investigative powers were exercised.
“Investigation must not become punishment,” the organisation said in its conclusion, while insisting that the fight against corruption should be relentless but lawful.
OccupyGhana said a fight that respected due process protected both the public purse and the constitutional rights of the people it was intended to serve.
