Women march to EOCO in Accra demanding release of Salomey Baffoe, give Mahama 24 hours

Pinned summary · as of 05:28

Women taking part in a protest they called Women's Voices Matter walked from AMA Park in Accra to the EOCO building, home of the Economic and Organised Crime Office, demanding that Salomey Baffoe be freed at once. The marchers set President John Dramani Mahama a one-day deadline to act on her case. Ms Baffoe, 40, has been held since a midnight raid on her home in the Bono East Region on 13 September.

What we know

• Demonstrators under the Women's Voices Matter banner assembled at AMA Park and then moved on to the EOCO premises, calling for Ms Baffoe's immediate release.
• The marchers told President Mahama he had 24 hours to step in and secure her freedom.
• Ms Baffoe, who is 40, was taken from her house at Hansua, in Techiman Municipality in Bono East, in a raid around midnight on 13 September.
• On 24 September the High Court turned down a request for her bail. Prosecutors had told the court the case was cyber-related, that she was still needed to help investigators and that freeing her risked interference with witnesses; the court in turn told the Republic to speed up its work.
• Protesters argued she should not stay locked up while inquiries continue, and said their wider aim was fair and lawful treatment of women caught up in legal or investigative processes.
• A participant identified as KOKA said women's concerns should matter to everyone, and asked why Ms Baffoe must remain in custody when investigators already hold her phone. He also contrasted the press conference authorities held on her case with the lower profile given to other serious incidents.
• KOKA also spoke of the pressures women face in supporting their families and earning a living, and asked whether pledges of support, among them a planned bank for women, had delivered real relief.
• Ms Baffoe is due back in court on 30 September.

What's disputed / unconfirmed

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  Police allege that Ms Baffoe, described as a Senior Nursing Officer, helped spread videos from the TikTok account "Ghana Jollof" by recruiting others to share them, and she is provisionally charged with abetment. CID Director-General COP Lydia Yaako Donkor said the account belongs to UK-based Barbara Asantewaa Kodua. Adom Online also linked her arrest to the account and said her family denies any connection. Only the Daily Guide Network carried the police details, and the allegations have not been tested in court.
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  Convener Akosua Manu said the evidence tying Ms Baffoe to the account is too thin and accused the authorities of using remand as punishment. Fellow convener Akosua Amoabeng said she was driven for nine hours to the capital while relatives had no idea where she was. Only the Daily Guide Network reported these claims.
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  According to the Daily Guide Network, the men who took Ms Baffoe at about 11.30pm said they were National Security operatives; the other reports did not say who carried out the arrest.
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  Her lawyer, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, called the detention illogical given that the main suspect is abroad, and the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association said police assured it she was unharmed. Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu and civil society figures also criticised the detention and the use of cyber laws, the Daily Guide Network reported. Adom Online said her lawyers have challenged the detention. No other independent report carries these points.
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  Ms Manu handed a petition to the gender minister, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, and urged the implementation of the Affirmative Action Bill, the Daily Guide Network reported. Adom Online said the march set off from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly car park and ended at the gender ministry, and credited the Ghana Women's Movement with the 24-hour ultimatum; other reports describe a march to EOCO. Neither account has been confirmed by other independent reports.
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  Reports differ on the weekday of the next hearing on 30 September: MyJoyOnline, attributing the date to KOKA, and Kessben Online said Tuesday, while The Ghana Report said Wednesday.

Why it matters for Ghana

The case has become a test of how Ghana applies its cyber laws to people who share content online, and of how long suspects can be held while investigations run. For nurses, traders and other women who joined or watched the Accra march, it has also turned into a wider argument about fair treatment by the police and the courts.