Top CID agents probing the millionaire philanthropist's role in the controversial 51-million-cedi judgment debt saga refused him bail on Friday night despite pleas from his lawyers that he should be admitted to self-recognisance bail. 

News of the CID's refusal to release the man who is on record to have heavily bankrolled the ruling NDC's 2008 political campaign broke the hearts of many of his supporters who had besieged the offices of the state investigative body, demanding his release. Many, according to our correspondent, wept and vowed to keep vigil in front of the CID offices until his release.

After months of raging media frenzy over the Woyome saga, the once powerful NDC financier's world came crushing early Friday after CID agents seized him in traffic while he was on his way to work.

His arrest followed a directive from the President of Ghana, John Mills, on Friday. The President had earlier directed his Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dr Ben Kumbour, to advise him on what course of action to take on the damaging interim report of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO) presented to his office on Thursday.

EOCO had in its interim report accused Mr. Woyome of putting "in a claim for an amount which by his own documentary submissions he was not entitled to. ”

According to the report, released on Thursday, Mr. Woyome "manipulated documents and information and riding on the negligence (and/or complicity) of public officials, managed to receive money which he was clearly not entitled to. ”

Suggesting possible collusion or conflict of interest on the part of one of the scheduled officers in the AG's office, EOCO said: "Available evidence so far has confirmed that an amount of 400,000. 00 was paid to the wife of Mr. Nerquaye-Tetteh on June 16,2011" the wife of "the Chief State Attorney in direct charge of the Woyome case".

He (Mr Nerquaye-Tetteh) "admits that he drafted all the letters which Mrs Mould-Iddrisu sent to the" Minister for Finance "concerning the transactions leading to the payments to Mr Woyome. ..." The report also argued that there was enough grounds for former AG Betty Mould-Iddrissu to have gone to court to defend the state over Woyome's unmeritorious claims but she chose not to.

News of Mr Woyome's arrest attracted scores of his sympathisers and relations to the CID headquarters to demand his release. But after some 10 hours of picketing within and in front of the CID headquarters, Mr Woyome's supporters and relations, were driven out by agents.

Earlier, a Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa told Citi News the millionaire philanthropist was to face criminal charges over his role in the judgment debt saga.

He also gave hints that some other past and present state officials implicated by the EOCO report may soon be hauled before the CID for questioning but declined to give details.

Meanwhile, busloads of NDC supporters and loyalists of Mr Woyome, are expected in Accra on Saturday morning from the Volta Region for what organisers are calling a weekend-long street protest to pressurise the Mills government to abort its plans to put the man who is said to have for several years fuelled the NDC campaign machine on trial.