Tension escalated at the headquarters of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on Thursday as Minority Members of Parliament staged a sit-in protest to demand the release of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi.
Clad in their official parliamentary attire, the MPs sat on the floor at EOCO’s main entrance, refusing to move until their demands were met.
According to them, Wontumi’s continued detention despite being granted bail is politically motivated and amounts to persecution.
“This is pure intimidation. He has done nothing wrong. We won’t leave until he walks free,” one MP told the press.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was arrested as part of EOCO’s probe into alleged illegal mining activities and financial misconduct. Though bail was granted, the MPs argue that delays in the process are deliberate.
The standoff at EOCO adds to the mounting political tension, with the MPs accusing authorities of using state institutions to target political opponents.
In a related development, Lawyer and MP Andy Appiah-Kubi has addressed rumours linking Hon. Kennedy Agyapong to Wontumi’s GH₵50 million bail package.
Speaking on Movement TV, Appiah-Kubi clarified that while the bail conditions are close to being met, Kennedy Agyapong is not the one footing the cost.
“The person helping has chosen to stay anonymous,” Appiah-Kubi said. “I’ve not been authorised to disclose any name.”
He commended Kennedy Agyapong for his role in assisting Prof. Ameyaw Akumfi in a separate legal matter but firmly dismissed claims tying the Assin Central MP to Wontumi’s bail support.
Chairman Wontumi’s legal team maintains that the charges against him — mainly involving environmental destruction and unlicensed mining — are exaggerated and politically motivated. They remain optimistic that the bail process will be completed soon.
