Petition to IGP with reference to Land Guard lawlessness in Nmadzor area

PETITION TO ARREST LAND GUARDS BUILDING ON A DISPUTED LAND EVEN
THOUGH THERE IS A COURT INJUNCTION AND PENDING LITIGATION TO
DETERMINE THE RIGHTFUL OWNER

THE INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE,
GHANA POLICE SERVICE,
HEADQUARTERS, ACCRA.

24 February 2022

Dear sir,

1. My name is Abdallah Mohammed, a Ghanaian living and working in the United States, but with a close tie to my homeland Ghana.

2. Per the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is the leader of the Ghana Police Service who is subject to directives from the Police Council and is responsible for the day-to-day supervision and control over the Administration and Operation of
the Police Service. Which includes:

i. The protection of life and property
ii. Prevention and detection of crime
iii. Apprehension and prosecution of offenders
iv. Preservation of peace and good order
v. Enforcement of all laws Acts, Decrees, and other regulations with which it is directly charged.

3. Thus, I wish to inform you about the lack of Police action to arrest and prosecute land guards and their sponsors for continuously building on my land in Nmadzor, Accra, despite a court order restraining all parties “...from entering, further construction or having anything to do with the disputed land until the final determination of the suit.”

4. I bought the land in question around 2014 and confirmed through an official search report at the Land Commission that my guarantor is the rightful owner of the land, based on a Court Judgement in his favour in 2008.

5. When I tried to develop the land in 2014, another party had built a short wall around the plot of land. This prompted my guarantor to file a lawsuit in the land court to evict them from the land. The case is still being litigated in the court as we speak.

Out of respect for the law, I deferred from developing the land
for about 8 years waiting for the final judgment from the court.

6. On or about 6 February 2022, some Land guards sent by one Sarah Osamampa and others encroached on the land and started building foundations claiming that they had won the Judgement on the land since 2015.

We reported the matter to Accra central police station and their workmen were arrested for investigations. In the ensuing meeting with the Regional Crime Officer, we both presented our documents, and the following facts were indisputable:

i. Official search from Land commission shows judgment in favour of my guarantor as the last transaction on record.

ii. The judgment they presented did not include my guarantor’s name in the list of defendants.

iii. A clause in the judgment they presented also stated clearly that lands that are already occupied are not covered by the judgment.

iv. There is an interlocutory injunction on the land and therefore any attempt to proceed with development is tantamount to contempt of court.

v. They could not present a search report and or site plan to show that their judgment covers the disputed land.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both parties were asked to stay off the land for the police to conduct further investigations in order to advise the competing parties on the next course of action.

5. The next day, the land guards and workers were back to the land working. All attempts to get the police to bring them to order have failed. They continue to work with impunity in flagrant disregard of the court and police.

The information available to us is that Osamampa is well connected and has the backing of someone at the top of the police hierarchy who has specifically instructed the “Anti Land Guard unit” not to send any police to the land to cause the arrest of recalcitrant land guards and or their enablers.

6. Our suspicion of police collusion was confirmed when on one occasion, the police patrol arrived to arrest the land guards but was recalled by someone at the top and so they left without action.

7. From the foregoing, it is clear that law and order have not prevailed in this case. The land guards and their enablers are still working on the land, and the police are unwilling or unable to stop them. Needless to say, the absence of law and order will be chaos.

8. I beseech you to use your good offices to call for immediate investigation and action in this matter. Given what I know so far, I have confidence that you will be deliberate in ensuring that the right thing is done.

9. Sir, your immediate response to this petition will inform our next course of action. Thank you!