High Court Dismisses A-G’s Bid to Revoke Abdul-Wahab’s Medical Travel Order

An Accra High Court has dismissed an application by the Attorney-General’s Department seeking to revoke permission granted to former National Buffer Stock Company CEO, Hanan Abdul-Wahab, to travel to London for medical care.

The court ruled the application was moot because the travel order, issued on July 4, expired on July 12.

Mr. Abdul-Wahab was arrested at Kotoka International Airport after prosecutors alleged he breached parts of his bail conditions while trying to travel.

Following the ruling, his lead counsel, former Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame, faulted the State for how it handled the case. He accused the State of deliberately blocking the court’s earlier order from being carried out.

“The conduct of the State must really be emphasised,” Mr. Dame said.

“I’m quite surprised that the State will actually behave in this way, conduct itself in a way just to violate a citizen of Ghana in this manner.”

According to him, his client was held for four days. He said the State filed the application to revoke the order after the travel window had closed.

“They prevented the court order from being obeyed by arresting him and detaining him for the period that you all know, four days and four nights, and then deliberately filed a motion and faced it until after the lapse of the order,” he stated.

Mr. Dame argued the application could not stand because the permission had already lapsed.

“I’m surprised that the Deputy Attorney-General will come to court seeking to revoke another which has lapsed. Clearly that application was incompetent, could not be granted because the order had lapsed,” he said.

He further alleged the State caused the order to expire by detaining his client and holding his passport.

“They orchestrated the lapse of the order because they arrested him, put him in their cells and seized his passport for him, preventing him from travelling,” he alleged.

With the court striking out the application, the Attorney-General’s bid to revoke the medical travel permission will not proceed.

Disputes remain between the defence and the State over Mr. Abdul-Wahab’s bail conditions, his travel request, and the continued seizure of his passport and other personal items.