“Stop Using Bail as Punishment” — Haruna Iddrisu Slams Judiciary, Police, EOCO

Education Minister Hon. Haruna Iddrisu has criticized the Judiciary, the Ghana Police Service, and the Economic and Organised Crime Office, accusing them of “excesses” in how they handle cases involving accused persons.

According to the Minister, state institutions often abuse their powers by denying bail to individuals merely on the basis of allegations.

“We have seen excesses, excesses from Police, from Courts and excesses from EOCO, where persons are denied bail and bail is used as punishment for accused persons,” he said.

He stressed that the practice is unlawful. “That is not the law, it is settled knowledge and settled law that you do not deny an accused person bail or impose excessively burdensome bail conditions,” Iddrisu stated.

He added that it is unconstitutional for any competent court to set excessively high bail conditions for accused persons seeking temporary freedom.