Majority Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has criticised the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over an alleged attempt to arrest a sitting MP, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, within the precincts of the court.
In a post on X, Mr Dafeamekpor said Article 117 of the 1992 Constitution provides a specific procedure for serving civil or criminal processes on the Speaker of Parliament, Members of Parliament and the Clerk to Parliament.
According to Mr Dafeamekpor, law enforcement agencies seeking to arrest a sitting MP must first channel the process through the Speaker of Parliament.
He described the alleged attempt by EOCO to arrest Mr Baffour Awuah Agyei at the court as unacceptable, insisting that the procedure prescribed under Article 117 must be followed.
Mr Dafeamekpor said law enforcement agencies must conduct their activities in a manner that respects the powers, dignity and institutional standing of Parliament as a co-equal arm of government.
Citing the case of Boyefio v NTHC, he argued that where the law prescribes a specific procedure for exercising a right, that procedure must be followed.
Mr Dafeamekpor also noted that Parliament is currently hosting the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra and cautioned that what he described as procedural improprieties could affect Ghana’s image.
He stressed that if Mr Baffour Awuah Agyei is alleged to have committed an offence for which EOCO requires his presence, “the law should take its course”, but through what he described as the lawful procedure prescribed under Article 117.
