A 27-year-old Ghanaian, Frederick Kumi, popularly known as Abu Trica, who was arrested in December 2025 over alleged cyber fraud activities, has filed a GH¢10 million civil suit at the Human Rights Division of the High Court in Accra, accusing state institutions and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of torture, unlawful detention, and serious violations of his fundamental human rights.
In the motion filed against five respondents — the Minister for Interior, the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), the FBI, the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), and the Attorney-General — Kumi is seeking substantial damages for what he describes as a “coordinated campaign of cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment” following his arrest on December 11, 2025.
According to court documents, Abu Trica claims that more than 15 armed officers raided his apartment in the Airport Residential Area while he was playing video games with friends. He alleges he was immediately handcuffed and kept in restraints from morning until late evening without being given food, water, or any opportunity to rest.
The suit further alleges that while in the custody of Ghanaian authorities, he was subjected to coercive interrogation by three foreign nationals introduced as FBI agents. Kumi claims these agents, who he says have no independent police powers in Ghana, forced him to sign documents he could not read due to limited literacy and threatened to implicate him in fraudulent transactions worth up to $8 million unless he provided his phone passwords.
His lawyers argue that allowing FBI agents to interrogate him without access to legal counsel was unlawful and violated Articles 14 and 19 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
While Abu Trica remained in detention, officers from NACOC and EOCO allegedly conducted unauthorised searches of his residence, popularly referred to as “Abu Trica’s Mansion,” in Swedru. The applicant claims the officers seized a wide range of luxury items and electronics, including a Lamborghini, a Mercedes, and a Cybertruck; several iPhones from models 7 to 15 Pro, MacBooks, an Alienware laptop, a PlayStation 5 console, and a Starlink Wi-Fi modem; as well as Cartier watches, jewellery, and silver chains.
Kumi further alleges that a number of the seized items actually belonged to his friends and that the officers failed to provide any inventory list or receipt for the confiscated property. He also accuses EOCO of breaching his right to the presumption of innocence by publicly describing him as a “notorious cyber-criminal” in an official news release before any court had determined his guilt.
In addition to the GH¢10 million in compensation, Abu Trica is seeking several key reliefs from the court. These include an order to exclude any evidence or items obtained through the alleged coercive interrogations and unauthorised searches from being used in future proceedings; an interlocutory injunction to prevent the State from extraditing or deporting him to any foreign country pending the final determination of the suit; and a specific order restraining the FBI and its agents from exercising any investigative or interrogation powers over him on Ghanaian soil.
