OSP’s unattainable bail conditions meant to punish Adom-Otchere – Lawyer

The lawyer for Paul Adom-Otchere, who is under investigation by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), has defended recent public interventions in his client’s case, arguing they were necessary to challenge what he called excessive bail terms.

Responding to criticism sparked by a “thank you” video Adom-Otchere released after securing bail, legal counsel Apraku Agyepong insisted that those who intervened were not obstructing the OSP’s work but rather responding to what he described as a deliberate attempt to detain his client through unachievable bail conditions.

In an interview, Agyepong disclosed that the OSP’s original bail requirement demanded two landed properties owned personally by Adom-Otchere, in addition to two sureties. This, he said, was despite the fact that Adom-Otchere had already declared—through an official disclosure form—that he did not own any landed property.

“The OSP was fully aware that the conditions they set were not attainable,” Agyepong asserted. “The bail conditions were designed to ensure my client would be detained, effectively using bail as a form of punishment.”

He added that it was only after these facts were made public that concerned individuals and groups stepped in, advocating for a review of what they saw as unfair treatment. Agyepong stressed that the principle of bail is not to punish but to ensure a person’s availability for investigation or trial.

Following these interventions, the OSP eventually revised the bail conditions, which allowed for Adom-Otchere’s release.

Agyepong maintained that the actions of those who intervened were in defense of legal fairness, not an attempt to undermine the investigation. He criticised the backlash as politically motivated and misleading.

He described the public narrative suggesting otherwise as a “wicked political spin” and “far from the truth.”