AG shoots down rights abuse claims over high bail demands

The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dominic Ayine, has pushed back against claims that Ghana’s investigative agencies are abusing the rights of citizens in the course of their anti-corruption work, particularly under the “Recover All Loots” initiative.

His comments were in direct response to concerns raised by Alhassan Tampuli, a member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs, over the high bail terms imposed by agencies such as the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Addressing the Committee, Ayine dismissed suggestions that the investigative agencies under his watch are overstepping their boundaries or infringing on the rights of suspects.

“I don’t want the impression to be given that those agencies under my watch that are in charge of the fight against corruption are abusing the rights of our citizens,” he said.

He pointed out that the bail conditions reflect the magnitude of the financial crimes being investigated, often involving embezzled sums in the tens of millions of Ghana cedis.

“When an organised crime office arrests somebody on suspicion of the commission of a crime and sets a bail, usually there will be an outcry that the bail terms are huge. It is also because the monies they steal are also huge,” Ayine stated.

He gave an example to illustrate the point, stating that if a suspect is believed to have embezzled GHC70 million, it would be unreasonable to expect bail to be set at GHC1 million.

“The purpose of bail is to ensure that the person is available to go to trial. If the person escapes the jurisdiction, we should be able to rely on what has been stolen,” he argued.

Ayine, who has a background in human rights and public interest litigation, reiterated that bail is not meant to be punitive but to secure the attendance of suspects at trial. However, he stressed that the value of the bail must be proportional to the gravity of the offence and the amount allegedly stolen.

The “Recover All Loots” operation has in recent months led to high-profile investigations into public sector corruption and misappropriation of funds. While it has received public support in some quarters, critics have questioned the transparency and fairness of the process, especially regarding how bail sums are determined.

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