An Accra High Court has issued a warrant authorising the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to arrest the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited.

The warrant was granted following an application by EOCO, whose lawyers told the court that investigators had exhausted what they described as reasonable efforts to secure the legislator’s voluntary attendance.

EOCO also expressed concerns that documents relevant to its investigation could be concealed, altered or destroyed, prompting the Office to seek judicial authority to arrest the MP and search for and seize relevant documents.

The development represents a significant escalation in an investigation that has been ongoing since February 2026 and comes just a week after an unsuccessful attempt by EOCO officials to arrest Mr Baffour Awuah at the Accra High Court Complex.

EOCO seeks Baffour Awuah’s arrest

According to EOCO, the Manhyia South MP was invited on two separate occasions in February 2026 to assist with investigations connected to SIC Life Savings and Loans.

The Office has maintained that the invitations were not honoured and that subsequent steps were taken to secure his attendance in accordance with the law.

Deputy Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, subsequently confirmed the High Court’s decision to issue the arrest warrant.

In a statement published on September 30, Justice Srem-Sai said the warrant was connected to an EOCO inquiry into a complaint concerning alleged unauthorised financial transactions at SIC Life Savings and Loans Company Limited.

He said the allegations being investigated include financial loss, dissipation of public funds and money laundering, among other suspected offences.

The allegations remain subject to investigation and have not been established against Mr Baffour Awuah by a court.

Dispute over EOCO invitations

Mr Baffour Awuah has disputed EOCO’s account of events and has maintained that he was not personally the subject of the initial investigation.

According to the MP, an invitation dated February 10, 2026, was addressed to him in his capacity as Senior Partner of Sarkodie Baffour Awuah & Partners, a law firm that had been engaged by SIC Life Savings and Loans.

He said that by the time he received the invitation, he had become a Member of Parliament and consequently referred the matter to the Clerk to Parliament for advice.

Mr Baffour Awuah has further stated that a representative of his former law firm subsequently cooperated with EOCO on three occasions — March 4, March 18 and April 30 — and that a formal written statement was submitted to investigators on April 30.

He has therefore argued that there was no further invitation to him personally before the attempted arrest on September 23.

EOCO, however, has maintained that the MP himself had been invited twice and that the invitations were not honoured.

Attempted arrest at High Court

The latest court order follows a dramatic incident at the Accra High Court Complex on September 23, 2026, when an EOCO official attempted to secure the MP’s attendance.

The incident occurred shortly after Mr Baffour Awuah had appeared at the court as legal counsel for a client.

Footage from the incident circulated widely, showing an EOCO official attempting to stop the MP as he prepared to leave the court premises.

The MP subsequently left the scene and went to Parliament.

EOCO later confirmed that its officers had attempted to arrest him, describing the action as part of steps taken to secure his attendance in connection with its investigation. The Office said the arrest was not completed after officers assessed that further action could endanger public safety.

The incident triggered reactions from sections of the legal and political communities.

The Ghana Bar Association expressed concern about the manner of the attempted arrest, while Majority Leader James Agalga argued that EOCO should have engaged the Speaker of Parliament in relation to the arrest of a sitting MP.

What is the SIC Life investigation about?

At the centre of the investigation is a financial transaction involving SIC Life Savings and Loans and the now-defunct Equity Savings and Loans.

Mr Baffour Awuah has explained that SIC Life had invested approximately GH¢3.5 million with Equity Savings and Loans. Following the default, the amount reportedly increased with interest to about GH¢14 million.

His former law firm was subsequently engaged to assist in recovering the funds.

EOCO has not publicly provided a full account of the specific transactions or allegations under investigation. Reports have, however, indicated that investigators are examining claims surrounding a legal fee arrangement and alleged payments connected to the former management of SIC Life.

Those claims remain allegations and are yet to be tested in court.

Court warrant gives EOCO broader powers

With the High Court’s latest order, EOCO now has judicial authority to arrest Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah and to search for and seize documents considered relevant to its investigation.

The order follows EOCO’s assertion that ordinary efforts to secure the MP’s voluntary attendance had been exhausted and that there was a risk that relevant evidence could be concealed, altered or destroyed.

The development is expected to intensify scrutiny of the investigation, particularly concerning the circumstances surrounding the alleged financial transactions and the competing accounts over whether the MP adequately responded to EOCO’s invitations.

For now, the investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations against the Manhyia South MP have not been determined by a court.

Further developments are expected as EOCO proceeds with the investigation and seeks to enforce the High Court’s warrant.