Estate developer, two others remanded for disobeying court's directives

Estate developer James Okine and two other people had their bail conditions revoked by the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah, for disobeying the court's directives.

The three had failed to report to the police as ordered by the court, prompting the revocation of their bail on March 20, 2023.

Okine, Stephen Okutu Kofi alias Kofi Santos, and Benjamin Djanker aka Asaa were remanded into police custody when they appeared before the court. They are standing trial with Abubakar Issah, Kamach Yeboah, and Ali Amadu on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and unlawful protection of land.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Maxwell Oppong, the complainant, Godrich Ardey, reported to the police on January 3, 2023, that his family owned 1.625.474 acres of land at Katamanso with a land title certificate covering the said land. The complainant also produced a Power of Attorney from his family to back his claims.

Investigations revealed that the complainant's family had had the said land in their possession for several decades. However, the court was informed that the complainant's family had also leased portions of the land to some estate companies who have built houses on the land without any challenges.

The prosecutor told the court that on January 5, 2023, the police visited the scene with the complainant and found Kamack and Amadu using a pay loader to grade the complainant's family land under the protection of Abubakar Issah, Stephen Okutu Kofi, and Benjamin Djanker. Kamack and Amadu were arrested, and Okine followed up during the investigation, leading to the charges against them.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case has been adjourned to March 28, 2023.