Private legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has questioned why senior nursing officer Salomey Awity Baffoe is being kept in custody for two weeks while police investigate her alleged connection to the Ghana Jollof TikTok account.
During his interview, Kpebu said he did not believe there was enough reason for the Adenta Circuit Court 1 to remand Baffoe while investigations continue.
According to him, investigators could simply take her phone, secure it and examine its contents without keeping her in custody.
“Based on my experience as a lawyer, from what I read, I don’t think this woman should be in custody. I don’t think so,” he said.
The court on Thursday ordered that Baffoe be remanded for two weeks as the police continue their investigations.
Kpebu explained that if investigators believe posts linked to the Ghana Jollof account were shared through Baffoe’s phone, the device could be seized and examined separately.
“The phone is seized. Then police will come back for an order to go and search the phone, etc. But not the person in custody,” he said.
He said the alleged content had already been published, meaning investigators did not need to keep Baffoe in custody to determine what was on her phone.
“Her phones are what you need. You don’t need a person in custody,” he said.
Kpebu said there are other cases where keeping a suspect in custody may be necessary, particularly where the person poses an immediate threat or where there is strong evidence of a serious offence.
He mentioned situations involving major drug seizures or cases where a suspect is accused of physically harming another person as examples where remand could have a clearer purpose.
“But this particular type, so I’m talking based on experience, the way we differentiate the cases,” he said.
While supporting the police investigation, Kpebu maintained that keeping Baffoe in custody was not necessary.
“By all means, police should investigate, but I don’t think remand was necessary,” he said.
