A High Court in Accra has ordered the Attorney General to present a written report justifying the continuous detention of Alhaji Seidu Abagre, a rival Bawku chief who was arrested late last month and has been kept in custody without being put before court.
The court, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, has given the Attorney General until January 21, 2026, to file a written report detailing the grounds for the detention.
The court gave the order in an ongoing habeas corpus application filed by the family of Alhaji Abagre, who alleges that they have been denied access to the detainee.
His lawyers also contend that they have not been allowed to see him despite his being detained at the Bureau of National Intelligence (NIB) for close to three weeks.
Alhaji Abagre of the Nayiri clan was among those laying claim to the Bawku Chieftaincy until a mediation overseen by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, recognized Abugrago Azoka as the undisputed Bawku Naba and Paramount Chief of the Kusasi traditional Area.
The mediation report directed that Alhaji Abagre be removed from Bawku and reassigned by the Nayiri or remain in the area as an ordinary person.
However, he was ‘forcibly’ and unlawfully arrested from his residence in Bawku in the Upper East Region by personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces, an application before the High Court alleges.
The application contends that officers of the NIB went to the Adentan Circuit Court on December 6, 2025, “surreptitiously” to obtain an ex parte order to detain Alhaji Abagre without notifying his lawyers or family members.
According to the affidavit in support of the ex parte motion, the applicant was denied the opportunity for legal representation, in violation of Articles 14(2), 14(3), and 15(1) of the 1992 Constitution, which guarantee personal liberty and the right to a fair defence.
It further argues that Alhaji Abagre’s continued detention exceeded the constitutional 48-hour requirement for producing a detainee before a court.
Although the application was filed ex parte, Deputy Attorney General Dr. Justice Srem-Sai appeared before the court yesterday, indicating that the Office of the Attorney General decided to be proactive due to the public-interest nature of the case and its implications for national security.
“The Office of the Attorney General decided to be proactive to intervene so as to ensure speedy resolution of the matter and also to fully protect the human right Alhaji Seidu Abagri,” he told the court.
He added that “upon this we decided to, notwithstanding that a formal process had not been served on us to appear in court so as to abridge the processes.”
Martin Kpebu, counsel for Alhaji Abagre, did not object to the Attorney General seeking to intervene early to abridge the time and the requirement to serve an order that the court may grant.
“In the circumstances, I believe the law will not be breached if my Lady allows the Attorney General to participate,” he added.
He, however, opposed a prayer by the Deputy Attorney General for the case to be adjourned for two weeks, leading the court to stand the case down at the request of the two lawyers, who had stepped out of the courtroom to confer.
When they returned, they agreed to adjourn the case, with Mr. Kpebu asking the court to order the Attorney General to bring Alhaji Abagre to court on the next date for the avoidance of doubt.
This request was opposed by Dr. Srem-Sai. On this basis, Justice Abdul-Baasit ordered the Attorney General to file the report justifying the continued detention and adjourned the case to January 26, 2026.
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