Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba
The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), has apologised to the High Court in Adentan for failing to respond expeditiously to a suit seeking to unfreeze certain assets of former Chief Executive of the National Buffer Stock, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, whose assets were frozen pursuant to a court order obtained by EOCO.
Mr. Abdul-Wahab is before the court seeking to overturn the freezing orders obtained by the EOCO on specific properties of his, which were acquired well before he was appointed CEO of the Buffer Stock Company.
The properties include a three-bedroom house in Tamale, three parcels of undeveloped land and an uncompleted property.
He contends that freezing the properties is unlawful and an affront to his rights to acquire property, to privacy, to a fair hearing, and to the presumption of innocence.
At the sitting of the Court on Thursday, December 18, 2025, lawyers for EOCO, led by Brew-Sam, informed the court that ‘administrative bottlenecks” within the office had prevented them from filing their response in time, and that they filed it only the day before.
Lawyers for Abdul-Wahab therefore prayed the court for an adjournment to enable them peruse EOCO’s response once it is served on them appropriately.
The court granted the prosecution’s prayer and adjourned the case to January 20, 2026 for the hearing of the application.
Attorney General Fails To File evidence
In a related development, the Attorney General, Dr. Dominic Ayine, had failed to file by the last adjourned court date, his disclosures in the case of the criminal case initiated against the former Buffer Stock and three others, nearly three months after the State filed the charges against the accused persons.
This is despite a press conference in October 2025 during which he effectively pronounced the accused guilty before both local and international media.
However, three months on, the Attorney-General has failed to file witness statements as part of the trial disclosures when the case was called in court on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Disclosures require the Attorney General to surrender to the defence all the documents and exhibits they will be relying on to prosecute their case.
This will enable defence lawyers to prepare their defence to the charges brought against their client.
Richard Gyambiby of Dame and Partners, who represented Abdul-Wahab, said his client is ready for trial and has been waiting for the disclosures to prepare a defence.
“We firmly believe in the innocence of our client and will mount a zealous defence in his favour. The prosecution bears the onus to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hanan used his office to steal from the public and cause loss to the Republic.
“We are convinced that the alleged acts could not have occurred under the accountability system that prevailed at Buffer Stock,” the lawyer added.
Evidence challenges
Meanwhile, a source close to EOCO, who requested anonymity, has revealed that EOCO is struggling with witness testimony despite an over-the-top press engagement by the AG, in which he labelled his disclosure to the media as the “Rumble in the Jungle.”
On October 28, Dr. Ayine said 24 charges, including stealing, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the State, had been levelled against Dr. Hanan and his wife.
However, the source said, “gathering the evidence has become tough. We are also finding that what we thought was foolproof is no longer foolproof, which has accounted for the delays.”
A Daily Guide Report