*LAWYER ALLEGES ATTEMPTED STATE-SPONSORED ABDUCTION AFTER COURT PROCEEDINGS – FLEES TO PARLIAMENT FOR SAFETY*

A private legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has alleged an attempted abduction by persons claiming to be operatives of the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB).

The incident, according to the MP, occurred today at the court premises shortly after court proceedings in which he was representing his client, Madam Salomey Awity Baffour, a nurse at Abrefi Hospital in Techiman.

Mr. Baffour Awuah claims his client was kidnapped by state authorities and brought to Accra, and he was in court to defend her fundamental human rights.

Speaking to the press after the incident, the MP narrated that after addressing journalists outside the court, a woman approached his vehicle and asked him to follow her.

"I told her if you need me at the NIB, why don't you invite me? She claimed I had been previously invited, but I asked her to show me evidence. I told her not to worry, I will sit in my car and follow her to the NIB. Then she said no, she would take me in her vehicle and drive me there," he recounted.

Mr. Baffour Awuah said he then demanded proof of identity and an arrest warrant.

"At that point she couldn't produce any evidence that she was indeed from the NIB. She also couldn't produce any arrest warrant. It became obvious to me that it was one of the recent kidnappings that have been going on which is sponsored by the state," he alleged.

According to him, fearing for his safety, he drove straight to Parliament to seek protection.

"I had to run, I had to drive to safety. I've come to Parliament and my colleagues are behind me and I thank them very much. I did this to protect myself, my family, my clients and for the benefit of the four-year-old child of my client who is waiting for the release of her mother," he added.

As at the time of filing this report, neither EOCO nor the NIB has officially commented on the allegation.

Report filed by PKB