Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Food and Buffer Stock Company Limited, Abdul-Wahab Hanan has, in application filed on 5th December, 2025, challenged a confirmation order granted by the High Court, Adenta, of the freezing of some properties of his by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO). It would be recalled that EOCO, by an ex parte application granted on 21st October 2025 by the Adenta High Court, obtained the confirmation of the freezing of some properties alleged to belong to Abdul-Wahab Hanan, who is currently standing trial for the offences of wilfully causing financial loss and stealing at the High Court, Accra.
However, in a fiery application filed by his lawyer, Richard Gyambiby, practising from the law firm of Dame & Partners, to which was attached relevant evidence, Hanan asserts that no factual or legal basis was established by EOCO to support a freezing of his assets. He categorically denies EOCO’s allegation of criminal conduct in the acquisition of the properties in question. The former Buffer Stock CEO contends that EOCO was merely motivated “by a desire to freeze every property tangentially connected to him, irrespective of whether that property was acquired in his period in office or not”.
Giving further details, Hanan indicated that the confirmation order obtained by EOCO includes property he had lawfully acquired in 2013, long before his appointment as CEO of Buffer Stock Company Limited and the entire period of investigation for the alleged offences. Therefore, there cannot be any conceivable link to the matters purportedly being investigated EOCO. Providing examples in an affidavit signed by himself and supplying the relevant evidence to the Court, Hanan, pointed out that he acquired his property with GPS Address NS-056-9690, Kpalsi, Tamale, in the year 2012. He completed construction of the house on that land in 2013 and even performed a part of the ceremonies for his Islamic marriage to his wife in 2013 in that same house. Hanan duly filed documents covering the acquisition of the land as well as photographs showing the party organised in that house in 2013.
Regarding other properties, Hanan stated that a house described by EOCO as “uncompleted Storey Building with GPS Address NR-151-7759, Gumami, Adjacent Baobab Guest House, Tamale” mentioned in the freezing order, does not belong to him and therefore could not have lawfully been part of a freezing order issued against him.
Mr Abdul-Wahab Hanan also denied any legal or beneficial interest in another property described as “0.27 Acre Plot of Land of GPS Address NS-320-6111, Estate Junction, Dagomba Street, Tamale”. He contended that, the land was the property of Al-Qarni Enterprise, an entity in which he has no interest. He indicated that the said Al-Qarni Enterprise transferred full ownership of its interest in the property to a company, OSGAF Furniture Enterprise by way of gift in 2022, long before the purported investigations by EOCO commenced. He attached documents to buttress his assertions.
On the strength of the facts, lawyers for Hanan argued that “the properties frozen are not tainted property and were not derived either directly or indirectly from proceeds of crime”. Mr. Richard Gyambiby asserts that EOCO, in applying for the order, bore the burden of establishing as a statutory precondition for the grant of the orders that, the properties are tainted property. This, EOCO woefully failed to do.
According to Mr. Gyambiby, the EOCO law – Act 804 – states certain fundamental prerequisites for the grant of a confirmation order. Therefore, a failure of EOCO to state and prove the essential factors specified by Act 804 and Ghanaian law in general, for a grant of a confirmation order as the one given against Hanan, renders the resulting order null, void and of no effect. He submits that the Court, “to protect the rights of ordinary citizens, due process and the rule of law, ought to review the orders granted by setting them aside”. Richard Gyambiby further argues that to the extent that the orders affected properties of Hanan acquired in 2013, long before he was employed as a staff of Buffer Stock Company, “same violates his right to own property and his constitutional right to be presumed innocent, especially as he has pleaded not guilty and reiterated his innocence of all charges against him”. The application has been fixed for hearing on 18th December, 2025.
