Security and Safety Analyst Dr. Adam Bonaa has called upon the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to initiate an investigation into the ongoing Cecilia Dapaah cash saga.
Dr. Bonaa's request comes amidst allegations of dishonesty by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) regarding the handling of the case.
In a video sighted by GhanaWeb, Dr. Bonaa, asserting his role as an active citizen, expressed his concerns over the transparency of EOCO's operations.
He stated, "I have a feeling EOCO is not telling us the truth."
He further described the institution as having become "the headquarters of corruption."
The analyst pointed out the peculiar situation where EOCO, which falls under the Attorney General's office was tasked with investigating a matter that is within its purview, only to later claim incapability in resolving the issue.
The impasse between EOCO and the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has raised questions about the integrity of these institutions, especially in the wake of the discovery of monies stashed at the residence of the former Minister for Sanitation, Madam Cecilia Dapaah.
Dr. Bonaa's statement suggested a lack of confidence in the current investigative processes and implied that a parliamentary probe might be the only way to uncover the truth.
Bonaa also hinted at the possibility of undisclosed activities within EOCO that warrant further scrutiny.
"Hello, I am Adam Bonaa, a citizen of this country and not a spectator, as the president enjoined us to be some time ago. I am using this media to invite Parliament and, by extension, the Right Honourable Speaker of Parliament to institute a probe into the Cecilia Dapaah cash saga.
"I have a feeling EOCO is not telling us the truth, and I can say with certainty that EOCO has now become the headquarters of corruption.
"There is a need to investigate what happened between these two institutions under the executive.
"These two institutions, EOCO and the Special Prosecutor, are both under the Attorney General's office, and so to have EOCO handed over the file to investigate a money laundering issue, which comes under them, and to have EOCO come back and later tell us that they couldn't do anything about it, if you ask me, it is mind-boggling. As a citizen and not a spectator, I would ask the Right Honourable Speaker and, by extension, Parliament to institute a probe. That is the only way we would know," he stated.
He urged the Speaker of Parliament to consider extending the terms of reference for the proposed probe, which could potentially encourage Ghanaians to come forward with information.
"There are a lot of things that are going on in EOCO that some of us find very unfortunate, and probably if these things begin to unfold, maybe if the speaker is minded to give an extended terms of reference, which is not to say that I know what is going to happen, but if the speaker would do this, I believe that we are going to have Ghanaians come out and tell the committee, if there is to be a bipartisan probe, what they know," he said.
In a direct accusation, Dr. Bonaa cited the Executive Director of EOCO, COP Maame Tiwaa, as engaging in half-truths and therefore called for full disclosure from the EOCO head regarding the circumstances surrounding the money in question and its connection to the Special Prosecutor.
"I can say with certainty that the boss of EOCO is not telling Ghanaians the truth; she is telling Ghanaians the half-truth, and she knows I know that she is telling Ghanaians half-truths. She needs to come out and tell Ghanaians what actually happened to the money that we are discussing at the moment, between herself and the Special Prosecutor," he added.
The OSP investigated Cecilia Dapaah for corruption and corruption-related offenses after two of her house helps had been charged with stealing more than $1 million, €300,000 in cash, and other valuables from her residence in Accra.
Despite extensively investigating the former minister, the OSP decided to discontinue the case and handed the docket over to EOCO.
However, EOCO recently decided to return the file to the OSP after receiving advice from the A-G's office.
GA/SARA
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