A Ghanaian pharmacist, artiste manager and building contractor, Shadrack Agyei Owusu, has filed a human rights action against the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney General, seeking GH¢5 million in compensation over what he describes as his unlawful and humiliating arrest by armed police officers at his home in Accra.
In the suit filed at the High Court’s Human Rights Division in Accra, Owusu is also seeking US$80,000 in special damages, which he claims represents money he lost after a construction client allegedly terminated a contract following the widespread circulation of videos showing him being arrested and escorted from his home while wearing only boxer shorts.
The case, numbered HR/0202/2026, invokes provisions of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution concerning personal liberty, human dignity and the enforcement of fundamental human rights. The motion was dated August 25, 2026, while Owusu’s supporting affidavit was sworn on August 26, 2026.
According to Owusu’s affidavit, four heavily armed police officers arrived at his residence at about 6 a.m. on June 11, 2026, entered the premises and informed him that he was under arrest.
Owusu alleges that when he demanded to know why he was being arrested and requested to see a warrant authorising either his arrest or a search of his premises, the officers did not provide an explanation.
He claims the officers searched his rooms and insisted that he accompany them, telling him that he would only be informed of the reason for his arrest after being taken to the National Police Headquarters.
The arrest, he said, took place in front of his four young children.
According to the affidavit, the children became distressed as they watched their father being handcuffed by armed officers inside their home.
Owusu further alleges that he had not dressed for the day and was wearing only boxer shorts when the police arrived. He said he asked to be allowed a few minutes to dress properly but that the officers refused.
He was subsequently handcuffed and taken from his residence in his boxer shorts before being transported through public streets to the National Police Headquarters on Ring Road in Accra, according to the court documents.
“I suffered considerable embarrassment, humiliation and distress as members of the public looked on while I was being transported in an almost naked condition under police escort,” Owusu stated in his affidavit.
Complaints involved vehicle, property and construction disputes
Owusu said he was eventually informed at the Police Headquarters that one Sarhene Raphael had made a complaint alleging that he had unlawfully seized a Range Rover vehicle intended to be sold to repay a debt owed to him.
The same complainant also accused him of unlawfully taking possession of a house that Raphael was allegedly in the process of purchasing from him.
Owusu denied the allegations, telling investigators that they arose from commercial and contractual dealings.
He told the court that he had come to know Raphael through musician Black Sherif, whom he said he was managing around 2021.
According to Owusu, Raphael and his mother approached him for assistance in August 2024 after Raphael was allegedly detained by police in connection with allegations of fraud involving approximately US$180,000.
Owusu claims he subsequently assisted in settling the debt and that an arrangement was reached for the money to be repaid to him.
A handwritten document attached as an exhibit to the affidavit records an alleged US$180,000 debt and states that US$106,250 had been repaid, leaving an outstanding balance of US$73,750.
The affidavit also refers to a separate dispute involving land and another complaint concerning a building project at Tse Addo in Accra.
Owusu said a client had alleged that the stage of completion of the building did not correspond with an alleged US$400,000 payment. He denied the allegation and maintained that construction was dependent on the progressive release of funds.
He further claimed that the client was indebted to him in the amount of US$180,000.
Police director allegedly found no criminal offence
A central claim in Owusu’s application is that the complaints against him were later determined by the police to be civil rather than criminal matters.
He said all the complainants were invited to appear before the Director of Operations of the Ghana Police Service at the National Police Headquarters.
According to his affidavit, after hearing the parties, the Director of Operations concluded that the complaints did not disclose any criminal offence and were “essentially civil disputes arising from commercial and contractual transactions.”
Owusu said the complaints were subsequently dismissed as disclosing no criminal offence against him.
“Notwithstanding the subsequent conclusion reached by the Director of Operations, the damage to my dignity, privacy, reputation and standing had already occurred as a result of the manner in which I had been arrested and exposed to the public,” he stated.
Videos allegedly circulated widely
Owusu told the court that unknown persons recorded videos of his arrest and that the footage was subsequently circulated across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, X, WhatsApp and various online news platforms.
He said the videos showed him in handcuffs being escorted by armed police officers while wearing only boxer shorts.
The accompanying publications, he alleged, linked him to fraudulent activities and falsely claimed that he had collected approximately US$1 million from people under the pretext of selling land and properties.
Owusu said the allegations were never substantiated by the police and claimed the videos and publications had been viewed more than one million times.
He argued that the circulation of the footage caused serious damage to his reputation among his patients, business associates, artistes, contractors, clients and the wider public.
“Many persons who viewed the videos formed the impression that I was a fraudster and a dangerous criminal,” Owusu stated.
US$80,000 construction contract claim
Owusu also claims that the fallout from his arrest caused him to lose a US$200,000 construction agreement involving a six-unit, four-bedroom residential development at Oyarifa.
According to the affidavit, Grand Move Construction Limited, of which he says he is the Chief Executive Officer, entered into the agreement with Edward Osei of Dawards Bond Limited in November 2024.
Owusu said US$120,000 had been paid as earnest money and part payment, with the remaining US$80,000 to be paid upon completion and handover of the project.
He claims that before his arrest, construction had reached lintel level.
However, following his arrest and the circulation of publications portraying him as a fraudster and criminal, Owusu alleges that the client terminated the agreement and prevented him from completing the project.
He is seeking to recover the US$80,000 as special damages, arguing that the loss was a direct and foreseeable consequence of the alleged reputational damage.
The agreement attached to the court documents provides for a US$200,000 contract price, with US$120,000 paid upfront and US$80,000 payable on completion and handover of the residence.
GH¢5 million compensation sought
In his application, Owusu is asking the High Court to declare that his arrest and detention were unlawful and violated his constitutional right to personal liberty.
He is also seeking a declaration that the manner of his arrest — including being handcuffed in front of his children and taken through public streets while wearing only boxer shorts — violated his right to human dignity and amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Among the reliefs being sought are:
▪️︎GH¢5 million in compensation or compensatory damages for alleged violations of his fundamental human rights;
▪️︎US$80,000 in special damages linked to the alleged loss of the Oyarifa construction contract;
General damages;
▪️︎Legal costs on a full indemnity basis; and
▪️︎Any other orders the court considers appropriate.
The application names the Ghana Police Service as the first respondent and the Attorney General as the second respondent.
Owusu maintains that the conduct of the officers who arrested him amounted to a “gross violation” of his constitutional rights.
The allegations contained in the affidavit are claims made by Owusu in support of his human rights application and have not been determined by the High Court. The respondents will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations as the case proceeds.
The court documents indicate that a date for the hearing was yet to be fixed at the time the application was prepared.