High Court Strikes Out Habeas Corpus Application in Alhaji Seidu Abagre Case
The High Court in Accra has struck out a habeas corpus application filed on behalf of Alhaji Seidu Abagre in relation to the Bawku chieftaincy dispute after counsel for the applicant withdrew the action.
When the matter was called last Monday, counsel for the applicant, Mr. Martin Kpebu, informed the court that the Attorney-General had complied with an earlier order to file a written report detailing the circumstances surrounding the arrest and detention of his client. He told the court that upon reviewing the report and considering subsequent developments, the relief sought had been overtaken by events.
Mr. Kpebu explained that Alhaji Abagre had since been arraigned before a court on criminal charges arising from the same subject matter, thereby placing him within the regular criminal justice process. In the circumstances, he said, the habeas corpus application, which was filed to challenge the legality of the applicant’s detention, had become unnecessary.
The Deputy Attorney-General did not oppose the withdrawal.
The court, presided over by Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Baasit, accordingly struck out the application as withdrawn.
Alhaji Seidu Abagre, a 79-year-old retired teacher and claimant in the protracted Bawku chieftaincy dispute, was removed from Bawku on December 24, 2025, by personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces as part of efforts to implement mediation recommendations issued by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Following his removal, he was taken into custody by the National Intelligence Bureau, prompting his legal team to file the habeas corpus application on January 5, 2026, on grounds that he was being unlawfully detained and initially denied access to counsel.
Subsequently, formal charges were filed against him, shifting proceedings from the habeas corpus challenge to the substantive criminal case now before the court.
