The Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) has apologised to the Adentan High Court for failing to respond expeditiously to a suit seeking to unfreeze certain assets of former National Buffer Stock Company Chief Executive, Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba.

The assets were frozen pursuant to a court order obtained by EOCO.

Abdul Wahab Hanan is before the Adentan High Court seeking to overturn the freezing orders secured by EOCO on specific properties belonging to him, which he maintains were acquired well before his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Buffer Stock Company.

The properties include a three-bedroom house in Tamale, which EOCO claims is evidence of his involvement in alleged crimes.

However, the property was acquired in 2013 and served as the venue for his Islamic marriage in the same year.

Hanan was appointed CEO of the Buffer Stock Company in 2017. Other properties he has asked the court to declare as unlawfully frozen include three parcels of undeveloped land and an uncompleted building.

He contends that the freezing of the properties is unlawful and constitutes an affront to his constitutional rights to property ownership, privacy, a fair hearing, and the presumption of innocence.

At a sitting of the court on Thursday, 18 December 2025, lawyers for EOCO, led by Brew-Sam Esq, informed the court that “administrative bottlenecks” within the office had prevented them from filing their response in time, and that the response was filed only a day earlier.

The prosecution therefore prayed the court for an adjournment to allow the applicant’s lawyers adequate time to peruse EOCO’s response once it is duly served on them.

The court granted the prosecution’s prayer and adjourned the case to 20 January 2026 for hearing of the application.

In a related development, the Attorney-General, Dr Dominic Ayine, failed to file his disclosures by the last adjourned date in the case of Republic v Hanan Abdul-Wahab Aludiba, former Chief Executive Officer of the Buffer Stock Company, and three others—popularly referred to as the Buffer Stock case, some three months after the State filed criminal charges against the accused persons.

This is despite a press conference held in October 2025, during which the Attorney-General effectively pronounced the accused persons guilty before both local and international media.

Three months on, the Attorney-General has still failed to file witness statements as part of the trial disclosures when the case was called in court on Tuesday, 16 December 2025.

Trial disclosures require the Attorney-General to provide the defence with all documents and exhibits the prosecution intends to rely on during the trial. This enables defence lawyers to adequately prepare their case.

Richard Gyambiby of Dame and Partners, who represents Hanan, said his client is ready for trial and has been waiting for the disclosures in order to prepare his defence.

“We firmly believe in the innocence of our client and will mount a zealous defence in his favour. The prosecution bears the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that Hanan used his office to steal public funds and cause financial loss to the Republic,” Mr Gyambiby said.

“We are convinced that the alleged acts could not have occurred under the accountability systems that existed at the Buffer Stock Company,” he added.

Meanwhile, a source close to EOCO, who requested anonymity, has disclosed that the office is struggling with witness testimony, despite what the source described as an over-the-top press engagement by the Attorney-General, during which he labelled his media disclosures as the “Rumble in the Jungle.”

At a press conference on October 22, 2025, Dr Ayine detailed what he described as an elaborate scheme to pilfer state funds and launder the proceeds through the acquisition of real estate and luxury items.

On October 28, Dr Ayine announced that 24 charges, including stealing, money laundering, and causing financial loss to the state, had been levelled against Dr Hanan and his wife.

However, the source said gathering credible evidence has become difficult.

“We are finding that what we thought was foolproof is no longer foolproof, and that has accounted for the delays,” the source said.

“This is a critical case for Dr Ayine because his personal credibility is at stake. He was both criticised and praised widely after the press conference, and he wants the case to move quickly. But prosecution is a matter of evidence, and we are struggling to assemble what will stand up in court,” the source added.

Also, watch below Amnesty International's 'Protect the Protest' documentary as the world marks International Human Rights Day 2025





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