By Gifty Boateng
In a dramatic twist to one of Ghana’s most explosive corruption sagas, embattled former CEO of the National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO), Abdul-Wahab Hanan, has stormed the High Court, seeking to overturn a property-freezing order secured by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
Hanan, who is currently facing 24 criminal charges including willfully causing financial loss to the state, stealing, and money laundering, filed the application on December 5 to challenge EOCO’s grip on four properties in Tamale assets he claims are either not his or were acquired long before his stint in public office.
The Adenta High Court had, on October 21, 2025, granted EOCO an ex parte order to freeze the said properties, which include:
– A three-bedroom house at Kpalsi (GPS NS-056-9690)
– An uncompleted storey building at Gumani
– A 0.27-acre plot at Estate Junction
– A 0.29-acre plot at Workers College
But Hanan is now crying foul, accusing EOCO of overreach and constitutional violations. In his affidavit, he claims the Kpalsi house was built in 2013 and even hosted his Islamic marriage ceremony proof, he says, that the property predates his appointment and has no ties to any alleged crime.
He further disowns the Gumani building and insists the Estate Junction plot belongs to Al-Qarni Enterprise, which transferred it to OSGAF Furniture Enterprise in 2022. According to him, EOCO’s actions are nothing short of a witch-hunt, freezing “every property tangentially connected” to him without “legal or factual basis.”
Hanan also slammed EOCO for obtaining the freezing order behind his back, arguing that the move violated his right to be heard and flouted sections 33–35 of the Economic and Organised Crime Act, 2010 (Act 804).
He alleges that EOCO detained him for two weeks in June 2025, ransacked his homes in Accra and Tamale without a warrant, and only informed him of the freezing order more than a month later on November 26.
But the former NAFCO boss’s legal gymnastics come against the backdrop of a damning criminal case that has rocked the nation. In October, the Attorney-General filed a blistering charge sheet accusing Hanan, his wife Faiza Seidu Wuni, and three others of orchestrating a grand theft of over ₵78 million in public funds.
The accused entities The Aludiba Foundation, Energy Partners Limited, and fugitive Richard Sam-Asante are said to have been conduits in a sprawling embezzlement scheme that spanned from 2017 to 2025.
According to EOCO’s investigations:
– ₵50.8 million was funneled through Sawtina Enterprise, owned by a NAFCO regional manager, with no goods delivered
– ₵5.49 million was paid to Aludiba Enterprise, Hanan’s personal business
– ₵4.4 million went to Alqarni Enterprise, owned by his wife
– ₵251,050 landed in Energy Partners Limited, another Hanan-controlled firm
None of these companies were licensed NAFCO suppliers, and no legitimate transactions backed the payments.
Even more damning, between 2020 and 2022, Hanan allegedly moved ₵13.2 million into Fa-Hausa Ventures, a company registered in his wife’s name, with both spouses as signatories. Prosecutors say the funds were used to acquire properties and bankroll The Aludiba Foundation described as a front for laundering stolen state funds.
Despite the mountain of allegations, Hanan remains defiant, insisting EOCO has failed to prove the properties are tainted or linked to criminal proceeds.
The High Court is set to hear his motion to quash the freezing order on Thursday, December 18.
As the legal battle unfolds, the nation watches closely. Will the former food czar escape the tightening noose, or is this the beginning of a long reckoning for one of Ghana’s most controversial public figures?