'How can anyone meet this?' Lawyers challenge EOCO's GH¢50m bail for Miracles Aboagye

Lawyers for Dennis Miracles Aboagye have questioned the Economic and Organised Crime Office's (EOCO) decision to impose a GH¢50m bail bond on their client, arguing that the conditions are so stringent they make his release virtually impossible.

Mr Aboagye, a former Executive Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD) and an aide to the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, was arrested at Accra's Kotoka International Airport over investigations into alleged financial and procurement irregularities involving about GH¢55m.

Although EOCO granted him bail, his legal team says the conditions are beyond reach.

Speaking outside EOCO's headquarters in Accra on Monday, lead counsel Samuel Atta Akyea criticised the terms, which require a GH¢50m bail bond with three sureties, two of whom must justify the amount with landed property.

"How is he going to be released? How is he going to post the bail bonds? GH¢50 million, three sureties, two to be justified. How can it be met?" Mr Atta Akyea asked.

He questioned whether anyone could reasonably secure property worth GH¢50m within such a short period.

"Where are you going to find properties worth GH¢50 million and finding it tonight?" he said.

The lawyer suggested that while EOCO had technically granted bail, the conditions effectively meant his client would remain in detention until they could be fulfilled.

EOCO says Mr Aboagye is under investigation over alleged financial and procurement-related irregularities during his time as Executive Secretary of IMCCoD. The amount under investigation is estimated at about GH¢55m.

The agency also arrested the committee's former accountant, Gerald Appiah, as part of the same investigation.

No formal criminal charges have yet been announced against either man, and EOCO says investigations are continuing.

Mr Aboagye's legal team says he is prepared to cooperate with investigators but is seeking a practical means of

securing his release under the bail terms.

The case is the latest high-profile investigation involving a former public official as Ghana's anti-corruption agencies continue to scrutinise the management of public funds by past office holders.