Wontumi Describes EOCO Detention as Near-Death Experience

Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has opened up about what he described as a harrowing and near-death experience while in the custody of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).

Addressing supporters at a political event in the Adansi Asokwa constituency on Wednesday, Chairman Wontumi recounted his arrest on May 27, 2025, and the difficult conditions he says he endured during his detention.

He was initially invited by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for questioning over alleged serious criminal offences, including fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering, before being taken into EOCO custody.

According to Chairman Wontumi, the environment he was kept in was so poor that he felt he was close to death.

“When I was arrested by EOCO, if you count your legs three times, that’s the width of the place where I was kept,” he said. “If you look at where I slept, I nearly died.”

Wontumi described the experience as both physically and psychologically traumatic, adding that he began to sense the spiritual presence of deceased relatives — a sign, he said, that his life was nearing its end.

“If someone is about to die, you’d know. You would see your relatives who have already passed away; you would begin to sense their presence around you, which literally means you are about to join them,” he said emotionally.

Drawing a dramatic comparison to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Chairman Wontumi said he experienced a moment of spiritual despair similar to Christ’s cry on the cross.

“I felt the presence of death around me in the place I was kept, just like when Jesus Christ shouted, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.’ That’s when I also shouted, ‘People of Ghana, arise! Ghana, arise! It is because of you that I am being treated this way,’” he declared.

His remarks come amid increasing tensions between the ruling administration and the opposition NPP, which has accused the government of using state institutions to harass and intimidate its members. The EOCO is yet to respond publicly to Wontumi’s allegations.