A private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, counsel for the acquitted Assistant Commissioner of Police (Rtd), Dr Benjamin Agordzo, has called for his client to be granted a five-year contract appointment with the Ghana Police Service as a form of reparation.
The High Court on January 24, acquitted ACP Agordzo, Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli and one other junior military officer, Corporal Seidu Abubakar of treason charges.
Mr Kpebu said the contract appointment will enable Dr Agordzo regain his lost dignity as well as continue the good work he was rendering to mother Ghana.
“He retired sometime November last year. So, he may not be able to go and continue in the Police Service, except they give him a contract. And I think in terms of reparation, that’s what President Akufo-Addo should do. Having destroyed the man and his family like this, the least he can do is to say, IGP Dampare, please look in there and give Agordzo a contract, let him come and continue the work he was doing. He was Director of Transformation. Let him come back and contribute for the next five years.
It will not solve all the problems, the destruction. It will not make him regain everything he’s lost, but at least, it will rehabilitate him a bit, because they’ve destroyed him on frivolous evidence,” Mr Kpebu explained on the January 24 edition of Ghana Tonight on TV3.
He said they are preparing to drag government to court for malicious prosecution.
“We are building a case, malicious prosecution. When we say malicious prosecution, it is a case where somebody takes you through the criminal justice system, through trial etc, without justifiable reason. So, we will show how this was an abuse of the process from day one.
That is to say, use the criminal justice system for your own political ends. To gag public officers. Gag them. Make sure that public officers will be so scared, they will not talk about Akufo-Addo’s misgovernance. We will look at it and build a case of malicious prosecution, so we will drag the government to court. They should come and answer,” he announced.
According to Mr Kpebu, the state prosecuted his client for political gains.
“…I am saying that Akufo-Addo said Arab spring in opposition. We didn’t hear any NDC people report him to police for him to be prosecuted for saying Arab spring. So, it was clear that for such a man, he couldn’t have a public officer prosecuted for saying conditions in Ghana are ripe for an Arab spring and showing people how to organise a demonstration.
So, you’ve always known, because Akufo-Addo knew that saying Arap spring is not a crime. That’s how come nobody did anything to him when he was in opposition. So, why does he come into office and somebody is talking about Arab spring and showing people how to demonstrate and he gets prosecuted,” Mr Kpebu quizzed.
Meanwhile, six of the accused, including three soldiers were however sentenced to death by hanging. They are; Donya Kafui, aka Ezor (a blacksmith) and Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu (a fleet manager), were found guilty of conspiracy to commit treason and treason, while Johannes Zikpi (a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces) was found guilty of conspiracy to commit high treason.
