Andy Appiah-Kubi, the lawyer of embattled Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako commonly known as Chairman Wontumi has said they pray to God Wontumi would be free today.
Chairman Wontumi was arrested by EOCO following a visit to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters on Tuesday, May 27 shortly after leaving the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters in Accra.
He was granted bail of GH₵50 million with two sureties on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, however, his legal team on Wednesday had not fully satisfied the conditions required to secure his release.
Andy Appiah Kubi on June 1st is quoted by JOY NEWs to have stated, “We pray to God that Wontumi is free tomorrow”.
Wontumi’s legal team revealed that despite meeting the bail conditions, Wontumi’s release has been stalled due to a fresh legal application filed earlier in the day.
“My client is not going home tonight. We encountered a challenge that needs to be addressed before we can move forward,” he explained.
“Unknown to me, an application was filed to frustrate what we are doing. We will deal with it on Monday. It is an application that was not filed by me, but it has prohibited his release,” Appiah-Kubi noted.
However, speaking in an interview with Oyerepa TV/FM, Andy Appiah Kubi revealed that Wontumi’s arrest and detention were lawful.
According to him, the EOCO has done nothing wrong.
He stated, “Let me explain, the type of arrest they made was an arrest under warrant. So, there was an arrest warrant for Chairman Wontumi… So, if there is anything wrong, it should be the law itself and not the approach.
“The law states that EOCO, as an entity, has the same powers as the police — that is the EOCO Act. So, their work is just like that of the police and includes them arresting upon warrant,” he explained.
Andy Appiah Kubi added, “But the issue with the law is that the warrant should be granted by the court, not by EOCO itself. So, the default in the law is EOCO itself having the power to issue warrants.
Because if the law were such that the court was supposed to issue the warrant to EOCO, the justification for issuing the warrant would be determined in the court, but with this (law), they can decide whether or not to arrest under warrant.
“Because he was arrested under warrant, the 48-hour rule under the Criminal Procedure Code does not apply,” he said.
See the post below:
Wontumi’s Detention: We pray to God that Wontumi is free tomorrow – Andy Appiah-Kubi, Wontumi’s lawyer.#TheProbe pic.twitter.com/DSoVZd0qDi
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) June 1, 2025
