Law firm Dame & Partners has demanded the immediate return of more than £6,700 allegedly seized from its client, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, during his arrest at the Accra International Airport.

In a letter dated July 9, 2026, and addressed to the Attorney General and the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the firm said the money was intended to cover Abdul-Wahab's travel and medical expenses in the United Kingdom.

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According to the lawyers, Abdul-Wahab was arrested on July 4, 2026, while travelling for a scheduled medical appointment and was detained by the Bureau of National Intelligence and EOCO before being released on the night of July 8, 2026.

The letter shared by TheLawPlatform on Monday, July 13, 2026, stated that at the time of his arrest, Abdul-Wahab had in his possesion £6,700 and GH¢2,750, as well as, two mobile phones and other personal belongings.

“At the time of his arrest, he had in his possession personal effects, two mobile phones and sums of money which he had borrowed for his travel expenses and medical treatment, specified as follows: First envelope – GBP5,000, Second envelope – GBP1,700, and Third envelope – GH¢2,750,” portions of the letter read.

The lawyers further stated that Abdul-Wahab was asked to report to EOCO on July 9, 2026, to retrieve his belongings.

However, they claim he was only given an empty purse, a watch and his boarding pass, while the cash and two mobile phones were withheld.

"To his utter dismay, when our client reported at EOCO, he was only given an empty purse, a watch and boarding pass. When he enquired about the remainder of his items, the investigating officer... responded that he had no authorisation to release the money and the two mobile phones seized from him at the airport,” the letter stated.

Dame & Partners argued that the continued retention of the money has caused financial hardship because it was borrowed specifically for Abdul-Wahab's medical trip.

"The money borrowed by our client for his trip was intended solely for his travel and medical treatment. This money was not taken out of any account of his alleged frozen funds, and its continued retention is legally baseless and is causing significant distress and financial hardship to our client,” it added.

The law firm also accused EOCO of unlawfully accessing data on Abdul-Wahab's mobile phones without judicial authorisation while they were in the office's custody.

According to the letter, the phones were allegedly accessed on July 6 and July 7, 2026, while Abdul-Wahab remained in detention.

The lawyers further claimed that EOCO is still holding Abdul-Wahab's passport despite a High Court order directing that it be returned to enable him travel.

“We are further instructed that EOCO unlawfully accessed the data on our client's phones without any judicial authorisation. Specifically, the access occurred on 6th July 2026 at 7:39 pm and again on 7th July 2026 at 9:33 pm, during which time our client was in your custody and his phones were in your possession.

“This constitutes an unlawful interference with our client's personal properties and a grave violation of his right to privacy guaranteed under Article 18(2) of the Constitution, 1992,” the letter indicated.

“We also note that our client's passport remains in your custody contrary to the order of the High Court dated 29th June 2026, and he was ordered by the Court to enable him travel out of the jurisdiction, and he was ordered to return it directly to the Registrar of the Court. In accordance with Article 21(1)(g) of the Constitution, the citizen's passport without the authorisation of a court order is unwarranted,” the lawyers argued.

Hanan’s lawyers have therefore demanded the immediate release of the £6,700, GH¢2,750, the two mobile phones, the passport and any other personal belongings still in EOCO's custody.

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The firm also requested a full account of any data allegedly accessed from the phones, warning that it may resort to legal action if the demands are not met.

“In light of all the above, we hereby demand the immediate release of the two mobile phones and the money seized from our client together with all other items unlawfully held in your custody. We also demand a full account of any data accessed from our client's phones,” the lawyers demanded.

Read the documents below:






MAG/VPO

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