Lawyer Kwesi Botwey Jr has criticised the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) over the arrest of former Inter-Ministerial Coordinating Committee on Decentralisation (IMCCoD) Executive Secretary Dennis Edward 'Miracles' Aboagye, describing the office's statement on the matter as reckless and without merit.

Speaking to the media at EOCO's headquarters, he said: "Ordinarily, what I was expecting to see [was] a charge sheet. For EOCO to say that the Attorney General has arraigned Dennis before a court of competent jurisdiction, and he has been charged with offence A, B, C, or X, Y, Z. But you don't issue a press statement to pronounce the person guilty until the person has proven himself innocent. You don't do that."

He intimated Miracles had been arrested over former IMCCoD accountant Gerald Appiah making reported refunds in connection to a GHS55 million scandal. He observed EOCO's statement had no signature attached, to bolster his claims of the statement being questionable. 

Botwey said: "In any case, what did the statement say? It said someone has started refunding the money... and so what? The statement doesn't make any sense and because they agree with me that the statement doesn't make any sense, no one could confidently append a signature to it. Did you see any signatory under [the] statement? Nobody had [the] audacity to sign the statement because it was a very useless and reckless statement."

He further stated: "And it was a statement that was issued in panic as a panic reaction to the ongoing issues. The statement was full of typographical errors, full of grammatical mistakes. The statement is a complete mess. I don't know any meaning that the statement conveys. The statement is a lot of nothing. It doesn't mean anything. It's bogus. We shouldn't treat the statement with any urgency."

He also indicated that former Abuakwa South MP Samuel Atta Akyea ESQ is representing Miracles Aboagye and was present with him.

'Government Has 48 Hours to Charge or Release Him'

Kwesi Botwey Jr underlined that EOCO was under a constitutional obligation to either charge or release his client within 48 hours. He, however, suspected Miracles would be subjected to an unbearable bail condition.

"As you all know, the government has 48 hours to charge or release him. As we speak, there is no charge sheet before any court, he's not been charged. And so we are hopeful that by close of day he'll be released as the law stipulates only if this government does not repeat their playbook of imposing unreasonable bail conditions on their suspect. That is what could delay the release, if it happens. But we are hoping that they will release him," he said.

Addressing questions about interrogation, he argued that Miracles Aboagye was under no obligation to cooperate with investigators.

"You asked about interrogation. Let's be clear. The constitution is very clear that as part of a person being presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, a suspect or an accused person could decide not to cooperate with law enforcement agencies. Dennis can decide not to cough. He can decide not to say a word to them and they cannot do anything to him. That is his right. And so, whether interrogation or no interrogation, I don't think there is any merit to it," the lawyer said.

'Arrest Meant to Silence Miracles'

The lawyer strongly alleged that the arrest was politically motivated, as Miracles had been a fierce results-oriented critic of the government.

"But the whole arrest and everything surrounding this matter is to get political capital, is to silence Miracles, is to intimidate Miracles, and his followers because they know that as it stands now the leading, most vocal person in the NPP, one of government's loudest critics is Miracles. We all know this. People's Forum. He brought up the cocoa issues, utility tariffs - the government is uncomfortable about what he's doing. The government is unhappy about what he's doing. And so all this is intimidation tactics by the government to shut him down," Botwey asserted.

Lawyer Outlines Sequence of Events Before Arrest

Kwesi Botwey Jr said the events leading to Miracles Aboagye's arrest began after he handed over office to the current Executive Secretary of IMCCoD, Dr. Gameli Dominic Kewuribe Hoedoafia.

"He came to EOCO office once. Now let me give you the sequence of events. What happened was, when Miracles handed over to the current Executive Secretary, the Executive Secretary said he had done audit findings and given a report to Miracles for his comments and reactions," Botwey narrated.

He continued: "Once Miracles handed over [to] the current Executive Secretary, Miracles categorically, one after the other, responded to all audit queries by the Executive Secretary. After this, they didn't say anything. This was in November [2025]. They didn't write back or give any response or underline any inconsistencies."

According to him, EOCO later invited Miracles Aboagye for questioning.

"Sometime [around] 28th April of this year [2026], EOCO invited him. He didn't even spend more than 10 minutes when he came. They told him they have not concluded investigations. And so he should go, as he would be invited again," he explained.

He said the next development was the sudden arrest of Miracles at the airport on July 12, 2026. He alleged the nature of the arrest suggested a design to draw public emotions and opinions. He added Miracles intentions to become the NPP's National Communications Director did not sit well with the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

"This was until we saw he had been arrested at the airport, and a spectacle had been created. Now, what is the purpose of the spectacle? Was it because the person had announced his intentions to become the National Communications Director and that is why they've created a spectacle out of the arrest or what? Because if you put all the pieces of events and circumstances leading to the arrest together, you form but one irresistible conclusion, and that is it is because of his declaration. That is why he has been arrested," Lawyer Botwey said.