Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba
Lawyers for former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, have threatened to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the Attorney General, his Deputy, and the Director of the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI), following his arrest at the Accra International Airport.
The lawyers say the latest development confirms their suspicion that the Attorney General and his Deputy are the masterminds of frequent violations of court orders by law enforcement agencies and the persistent harassment of their client and other citizens under the current administration.
Mr. Aludiba, who is standing trial with his wife, Faiza Seidu Wuni, for allegedly stealing and causing financial loss to the state amounting to GH¢62.6 million, was arrested at the airport in the late hours of July 4 when he attempted to travel to the United Kingdom for medical reasons.
Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, in a Facebook post, confirmed the arrest and claimed that Mr. Aludiba, who had been granted permission by the trial court to travel, attempted “to use false means to empty his frozen bank account with Republic Bank on Thursday, which occasioned tonight’s arrest.”
He added that the Attorney General would, on Monday, July 6, seek a review of the court order that granted Mr. Aludiba leave to travel out of the country.
Lawyers Fight Back
Shortly after the Deputy Attorney General’s post, the legal team for Mr. Aludiba, led by Godfred Yeboah Dame, issued a statement denying claims that he attempted to empty his bank account.
The statement described the Facebook post as “laden with falsehood” and “a lame attempt to cover up the Attorney General’s deplorable authorisation for an order of a court of competent jurisdiction to be violated with impunity.”
UK Travel Approval
Mr. Aludiba had filed an application seeking leave of the court to travel to the United Kingdom.
The court, presided over by Justice Francis Achibonga, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting as an additional High Court judge, heard arguments from counsel in the matter, including Dr. Srem-Sai.
The court subsequently granted him leave to travel to London for an appointment with his optician scheduled for July 6, 2026.
He was to depart on July 4 and return on July 12, 2026, and was further ordered to deposit his passport with the registry of the court by July 14, 2026.
Mr. Dame, in a statement following the arrest, said the court’s decision granting permission to travel was consistent with precedent allowing accused persons on trial to travel in the exercise of their fundamental human rights to freedom of movement and medical care.
He cited previous cases in which accused persons standing trial for similar offences, including Dr. Stephen Opuni, Seidu Agongo, Alhaji Collins Dauda, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, were granted permission to travel while on trial.
Frozen Bank Account Dispute
The statement also dismissed the allegation by the Deputy Attorney General that Mr. Aludiba attempted to empty a frozen bank account as “simply untrue.”
The lawyers challenged the Deputy Attorney General to produce evidence of any withdrawal made by Mr. Aludiba from any of his accounts since the court order.
Mr. Dame further argued that there is no valid order freezing Mr. Aludiba’s accounts.
He explained that the accounts were frozen last year during investigations that led to his earlier arrest and prosecution, but said that on May 5, 2026, the charges were withdrawn, resulting in his discharge and the lapse of all related court orders, including bail and freezing directives.
He added that fresh charges were filed on May 15, and the High Court in Adenta, presided over by Justice Kwame Osei Gyamfi on May 20, 2026, ruled that the re-arrest “began a fresh process,” implying that there was no valid freezing order in place.
The defence team said it had already communicated its legal position in a formal letter to the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) about two weeks ago.
They further described the arrest as “grossly deceptive and misleading,” accusing the authorities of deploying the BNI based on a false claim regarding a frozen account.
The lawyers insisted they would proceed with contempt of court action against the Attorney General, his Deputy, and the BNI Director for what they described as a wilful violation of a court order, adding that “freedom has become a rare and expensive commodity.”
BY Gibril Abdul Razak