Baffour Awuah has shown willingness to cooperate, qualifies for self-recognisance bail – Kofi Bentil

Lawyer and Senior Vice President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, says Manhyia South MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah qualifies to be granted bail on his own recognisance, arguing that the lawmaker has demonstrated his willingness to cooperate with investigators.

Mr Bentil said the Manhyia South MP’s decision to voluntarily report himself to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) should be considered in determining whether he poses any risk of absconding or interfering with the investigation.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 3, he said self-recognisance bail was generally appropriate where an accused person was considered unlikely to flee and was willing to submit to the investigative process.

“You know there is self-recognisance bail. And the principle of self-recognisance bail is that the person is not a flight risk and that the person will submit themselves to the investigative processes,” he said.

Mr Bentil said the arrangement was often considered for people whose public profile and circumstances made it unlikely that they would abscond.

“It’s usually given to people who are public figures, easily recognizable, you know what they are doing and they really don't have an incentive not to cooperate,” he said.

He argued that parliamentarians, by virtue of their public responsibilities and visibility, would ordinarily have little incentive to flee.

“If there are any group of people who are qualified for self-recognisance bail, it will be parliamentarians,” he said.

Mr Bentil also pointed to Mr Baffour Awuah’s decision to voluntarily report to EOCO as evidence of his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

“And in this particular situation somebody who actually submitted himself, somebody you claim you have been pursuing since February is notoriously public, is in court representing people, is in parliament doing his work,” he said.

He questioned whether the MP had any incentive to abandon his parliamentary duties and constituency to evade investigators.

“Is there a single incentive, even half an incentive for him to abandon his constituency and flee? Because you are charging him with something we all don't understand,” he said.

Mr Bentil therefore argued that he saw no justification for keeping the MP in custody rather than granting him bail.

“The point I want to make first is that there is absolutely no reason I can find for not giving Honorable Baffour Awuah bail. He qualifies for self-recognizance bail,” he said.

“He clearly has shown that he will walk to the place. He doesn't have an incentive not to participate in the investigation etc.”

Mr Baffour Awuah voluntarily reported to EOCO on Thursday, October 1, to assist with investigations into transactions involving SIC Life Savings and Loans and was subsequently detained by the agency.

The development followed an earlier attempt by EOCO to arrest the MP at the Accra High Court Complex on September 23, an incident that has generated debate over the manner in which the agency sought to execute the arrest.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.