Lawyer and social activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has criticised the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for detaining NPP’s Ashanti regional chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, beyond the constitutionally mandated 48-hour period.
Chairman Wontumi is currently under investigation for various alleged criminal offences, including illegal mining and money laundering, a situation that has sparked massive public outcry.
Wading in the ongoing situation, Barker-Vormawor, in an extensive post on his X account on May 31, 2025, questioned EOCO’s decision to continue keeping the NPP executive without arraigning him before court, describing it as a clear violation of Wontumi’s constitutional rights.
“This creeping practice of State institutions holding people and claiming that they must meet the executive’s bail conditions or stay there till they do without judicial sanction is absurd and unconstitutional,” his post read in part.
Referencing the case of Kwabena Adu Boahene, the embattled Executive Director of the National Signals Bureau (NSB), Barker-Vormawor expressed disappointment at the legal strategy employed by the detainees’ legal representatives.
“What I find strange is that I saw this happen within Adu Boahene and now Wontumi. In both cases, instead of applying for Habeas Corpus, the lawyers are applying for reduction in bail terms,” he quizzed.
Barker-Vormawor cautioned the government against engaging in lengthy pre-trial detentions to target political opponents, labelling such actions as “undemocratic.”
He emphasised that operations like “Operation Recover All Loot” (ORAL) can and must be executed fairly and strictly within the provisions outlined in the 1992 Constitution.
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Personal liberty is a fundamental right. No state institution has the power to keep a person for more than 48 hours without presenting them before court.
The Constitution is clear. You must release the person unconditionally or present them before a court in 48 hours.
If after 48 hours you don’t present them before a court, the Constitutional injunction is to release them unconditionally.
This creeping practice of State institutions holding people and claiming that they must meet the executive’s bail conditions or stay there till they do without judicial sanction is absurd and unconstitutional.
What I find strange is that I saw this happen within Adu Boahene and now Wontumi. In both cases, instead of applying for Habeaus Corpus, the lawyers are applying for reduction in bail terms.
Any police enquiry bail terms which are not fulfilled in 48, becomes void ab initio!
Wontumi is being held against his will. End this charade. Seeking lenthy Pre-Trial detentions to teach a lesson is undemocratic.
ORAL must and can succeed fairly!
Shalom!
Read post below
1. Personal liberty is a fundamental right. No state institution has the power to keep a person for more than 48 hours without presenting them before court.
2. The Constitution is clear. You must release the person unconditionally or present them before a court in 48 hours.
3.…
— Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor (@barkervogues) May 31, 2025
VPO/EB
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