Private lawyer Martin Kpebu has alleged that he was subjected to verbal abuse by a soldier stationed at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) during a visit on Wednesday, December 3. Speaking to the media shortly after being released from detention, Mr. Kpebu described a confrontation that unfolded as he returned to the OSP to continue with procedures requested by investigators.
According to him, the incident began when a soldier accosted him without justification. “I was walking back to the OSP’s office when a soldier, and I don’t know what a soldier was doing performing police duties, said that the next time you come and pack your car here, I will not allow you,” he recounted.
Mr. Kpebu said he resisted what he considered an unlawful restriction of his freedom. “So I replied that no, you can’t do that because I am not a suspect or an accused person. I’m here to assist the OSP, so you can’t curtail my right like that.”
He added that another soldier joined in and issued threats. “Another soldier shouted, saying that ‘as for me, if you come and do that, I will show you.’ So I gave him the same response, that he can’t stop my right.”
The lawyer claimed the situation escalated when one of the soldiers insulted him. “He said, ‘You’re a stupid man,’ and I also told him that he is stupid because how can a soldier insult someone? First of all, you’re not a policeman,” he said.
Mr. Kpebu further questioned the presence of soldiers at the OSP, arguing that their deployment was unnecessary and intimidating. “If the OSP building is in danger, do you think we need soldiers to protect it? OSP dressing soldiers and stationing them at the gate to put fear into people. He’s using this vigilante mentality to create fear,” he asserted.
He maintained that soldiers should not be assigned routine policing duties and demanded clarity on their role at the institution.
Meanwhile, the OSP has issued its own detailed account of the incident, stressing that Mr. Kpebu’s arrest was legitimate and devoid of political or personal bias. In a statement shared on social media on Thursday, December 4, by the OSP’s Director-SRC, Sammy Darko, the office explained that Mr. Kpebu obstructed operations after disregarding security instructions upon his arrival at the premises.
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