The former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, has been arrested by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).

In a statement issued on June 21, 2023, the OSP indicated that Charles Bissue was arrested after he turned himself in.

“At 11:45 GMT on 21 June 2023, the Secretary to the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue turned himself in to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“He was immediately placed under arrest, interviewed and subsequently released on bail,” parts of the statement read.

Bissue’s arrest comes after he secured an interim injunction against an arrest by the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

According to a lawyer of Charles Bissue, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, the Human Rights Court 2 in Accra, presided over by Justice Nicholas MC Abodakpi, issued the injunction which also bars the OSP from issuing wanted notice on his client.

Lawyer Baffuor, who disclosed this to GhanaWeb, indicated that the injunction was issued after trials on Thursday, June 15, 2023 and would last for 10 days.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor, earlier, had declared the former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue, wanted.

In a notice shared on social media, on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the OSP stated that Charles Bissue is being wanted regarding issues pertaining to his work on the dissolved IMCIM.

The notice which was titled “Wanted by the OSP” has a picture of Charles Bissue and his full name Charles Cromwell Nanabayin Onuawonto Bissue.

The alleged offences he was declared wanted for include: “corruption-related offences regarding the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), especially in respect of the seizure and management of excavators, machinery, road vehicles, and gold nuggets; and use of public office for profit”.

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