Frederick Kumi, also known as Abu Trica, has filed a lawsuit against the Minister of the Interior and several investigative bodies over his arrest, detention, and interrogation in December 2025.
The suit names the Narcotics Control Commission, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Attorney-General as defendants.
Abu Trica, who is well-known on Snapchat, was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following a U.S. indictment alleging his involvement in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly Americans of over $8 million.
Through his lawyer at the Human Rights Division of the High Court, he filed an application for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights under Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution.
He is seeking GH¢10 million in compensation for what he describes as violations of his constitutional rights.
The lawsuit also challenges EOCO’s public statement labelling him a “notorious cyber-criminal,” which Abu Trica says wrongly portrayed him as engaged in large-scale criminal activity and fraud, despite having no conviction in a competent court.
He claimed that during his detention, he was denied access to legal counsel, subjected to an intimidating and coercive environment, deprived of food and water, and forced to disclose his passwords. He also alleges that properties belonging to his clients were seized.
He argued that these actions violated his right to be presumed innocent and to a fair trial, and infringed on his fundamental rights to personal liberty, human dignity, and fair hearing.
Reliefs sought
Abu Trica is requesting the High Court to:
Declare that his prolonged detention, questioning, and interrogation without a lawyer violated his constitutional rights to personal liberty, human dignity, and fair trial, and are therefore unlawful.
Order that any information obtained from him under these conditions be excluded from use in any criminal, extradition, or administrative proceedings.
Grant an interlocutory injunction preventing the defendants from removing him from Ghana before the final determination of the legality of his arrest, detention, and interrogation.
