Madina MP Francis-Xavier Sosu has challenged the Economic and Organised Crime Office’s (EOCO) justification for its attempted arrest of Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.
Mr Sosu argues that a person cannot be arrested simply because they failed to respond to an invitation from an investigative agency, insisting that law enforcement must follow the prescribed legal procedures when seeking to arrest a suspect.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, he rejected EOCO’s claim that it had invited the MP since February, but he had failed to honour the invitations.
According to him, citizens are not legally required to assist investigative bodies merely because they have been invited to provide information.
“No citizen is under obligation to assist any investigative body in investigations,” he said.
Mr Sosu said where an investigative agency believes it has sufficient evidence to justify an arrest, it should proceed according to the law rather than treating an unanswered invitation as grounds for an arrest.
He questioned the basis for using an unhonoured invitation as justification for an arrest.
“If there is a complaint before you and you believe you have evidence to place the person under arrest, go ahead. You can’t say you invited the person, and for a long time, it hasn’t been honoured, so you go ahead to make an arrest,” he stated.
The lawyer stressed that Ghana’s substantive and criminal procedural laws provide the framework within which investigations and arrests must be conducted.
“Nobody is saying law enforcement agencies shouldn’t do their work, but it should be in accordance with the law. Why is the person your boyfriend or girlfriend for you to say you invited the person and the invitation was not honoured?” he asked.
He maintained that even where an individual is suspected of breaching the law, law enforcement authorities must not abandon the procedures required by law in seeking to arrest that person.
“You can’t say someone has flouted the law, and you will also breach the procedure to effect an arrest.”
Mr Sosu called for strict adherence to due process, saying this would help prevent unnecessary confrontations between law enforcement agencies and citizens.
“Due process must be followed. We must all follow the law and due process, and everything will be fine,” he urged.
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