Lawyer Martin Kpebu, has accused the Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Bagbin of turning the Constitution on its head after he labelled the creation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), as an "act in futility."
Bagbin maintained that the Attorney General's department should be decoupled from the Ministry of Justice for more effective prosecutorial governance.
However, Kpebu contested this perspective, asserting that the Speaker had misspoken and was contradicting the Constitution.
Speaking in an interview on Joy News on December 12, 2023, Kpebu, expressed his disagreement with the Speaker's stance, emphasizing that the OSP's primary challenge was insufficient funds rather than the need for structural changes.
“Lawyers will say, ‘I vehemently disagree with the Speaker.’ You know, ordinarily, the Speaker has been a very strong bastion of our democracy. He has done a bit well, psychologically. Even the fact that he is from the opposition just makes the conversations and our national dialogue good.
“That at least somebody from the opposition can voice his opinion and he is in charge as Speaker. It gives our democracy a good feeling, so generally, I am positively disposed towards him. However, on this occasion, I think Mr Speaker misspoke. He seriously misspoke. I am trying to see exactly where he is coming from.
“The problem is not funding perse. The problem is about independence, the grit, that resilience of somebody who can take the necessary decision to prosecute corruption and corruption-related offenses,” he asserted.
He argued that giving the Attorney General conditions equivalent to a minister, as suggested by Bagbin, would undermine the constitutional framework.
“You know in Mr Speaker's bid to make that point too strongly, then he is turning the constitution on its head. The constitution is very clear in article 88 that the Attorney General is a minister of state and Mr Speaker is saying that the Attorney general is a technical person and just give him conditions equivalent to a minister how?
“…so the speaker cannot be here and say the Attorney General is just a technical person and then give him conditions akin to a Speaker of Parliament, no, and its normal, we all get it wrong at some of the time .
“I go to court I get it wrong. So that is why I said generally I like the speaker, he does well but this one no, he just misspoke.”
Kpebu stressed the importance of the OSP's independence, asserting that the current setup, with the Attorney General being part of the president's cabinet, was not conducive to prosecuting corruption cases impartially.
Kpebu suggested that the Speaker's position on the matter was a deviation from the widely accepted view that an independent body like the OSP was necessary for effective anti-corruption efforts.
“So, it is undisputable that over the decades we have all agreed that usually, an Attorney General who is appointed by the president and is part of the president’s cabinet is not the best person to prosecute his colleagues. They don’t usually do well,” he added.
AM/SARA
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Martin Kpebu, Lawyer