Accra: A leading Ghanaian law firm, Minkah-Premo, Osei-Bonsu, Bruce-Cathline and Partners (MPOBB), has strongly condemned what it describes as the unlawful arrest and detention of two of its lawyers by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) over matters linked to the PDS/ECG concession saga.
According to Ghana Web, the firm issued a detailed statement condemning the actions taken against Senior Partner Justice Kusi-Minkah Premo and Junior Partner Sophia Kokor. The lawyers were reportedly arrested after visiting the BNI offices at Kawukudi to provide legal representation for clients involved in an ongoing PDS investigation.
The firm claims that the lawyers accompanied Philip Ayesu and Viraj Bhat to the BNI offices on April 30, 2026, when officials from the BNI and the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) allegedly prevented them from representing their clients, citing that the lawyers were 'persons of interest.'
MPOBB said the situation escalated into the restriction of the lawyers' movement, followed by interrogation and arrest on what it described as vague allegations of 'dishonestly receiving' and 'abetment of money laundering.' The two lawyers were detained overnight and later released on bail of GHS50 million each.
The firm argued that the arrests amount to an attack on the independence of the legal profession and the constitutional right to legal representation. The controversy follows public comments by Government Communications Minister Felix Ofosu Kwakye and an official from the Attorney-General's Office, Benjamin Alpha, who reportedly linked the lawyers to the transfer of GHS850 million allegedly belonging to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
However, the law firm denied the claims, insisting that no such allegations appeared in any official caution statement issued to its lawyers. MPOBB further explained that both lawyers were part of the legal team representing Power Distribution Services (PDS) in arbitration proceedings against ECG and the Government of Ghana at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).
The arbitration, which concluded in November 2024, resolved all outstanding disputes between the parties, with PDS paying all awarded costs to ECG. The firm maintained that PDS owed no outstanding funds to ECG and described attempts to revisit the matter through criminal investigations as an abuse of state authority.
MPOBB also warned that arresting lawyers over their professional work on concluded legal proceedings sets a dangerous precedent that could undermine confidence in Ghana's justice system. The firm concluded by describing the actions against its lawyers as intimidation and harassment aimed at interfering with their ability to effectively represent clients.