Lawyers for the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Hanan Abdul-Wahab, have demanded the immediate return of his passport, mobile phones, and cash totalling £6,700 and GH¢2,750 from the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

The demand follows his arrest on 4th July 2026 at the Accra International Airport while preparing to travel to the United Kingdom for a scheduled medical appointment.

Mr Abdul-Wahab was subsequently detained at the Bureau of National Intelligence (BNI) and EOCO cells before being released on the night of 8th July 2026.

In a formal letter addressed to the Attorney-General and the Executive Director of EOCO, dated 9th July 2026, his counsel, Dame & Partners, stated that the state agency is unlawfully retaining their client's properties without legal justification.

According to the law firm, when Mr Abdul-Wahab reported to the EOCO office on 9th July 2026 to collect his items as directed, he was only handed an empty purse, a wristwatch, and his boarding pass.

The investigating officer, Frank Cromwell, reportedly informed him that he had no authorisation to release the remaining items, which included two mobile phones and three separate envelopes containing £5,000, £1,700, and GH¢2,750 respectively.

The legal team explained that the cash in question consisted of borrowed funds meant strictly for travel and medical expenses, and was not drawn from any allegedly frozen bank account.

The defence team further accused EOCO officials of invading their client’s right to privacy as guaranteed under Article 18(2) of the 1992 Constitution.

The lawyers claimed that the data on Mr Abdul-Wahab’s two seized mobile phones was accessed without judicial authorization on two separate occasions—specifically on 6th July 2026 at 7:39 pm and 7th July 2026 at 9:33 am—while he was still held in state custody.

Furthermore, the letter noted that EOCO's continuous retention of Mr Abdul-Wahab's passport violates a High Court order dated 29th June 2026.

The court had released the passport to enable his medical travel, with a directive to return the document directly to the Registrar of the High Court upon his return. Counsel argued that holding the passport without a specific court warrant is contrary to Article 21(4) of the Constitution.

The law firm, led by former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, has asked for a full account of the data accessed from the phones and warned that they will resort to litigation if the items are not released immediately.