Nigerian businessman convicted for contempt

Accra, Dec. 2, GNA- An Accra High Court on Thursday convicted a Nigerian businessman to 10 days imprisonment for contempt of court. Boniface Amandi, Managing Director of Aluminium Enterprises Limited was in addition fined two million cedis for forging documents, which were already before the court for another transaction.

In his ruling, Justice Nana Gyamera Tawiah said in 1997, Amandi presented documents of his house at Lartebiokoshie as security for the clearance of equipment described as Roll Former Machinery valued at 73,000 pounds Sterling from Tema Port.

The court said accused was allowed to take delivery of the equipment after he had provided title documents of his house at Lartebiokorshie as security in a case pending before the court. The case before the court was as a result of a dispute between Amandi and his business partner over the clearance of the equipment from the port.

The court therefore asked any of them to provide a security for the clearance of the goods, and this Amandi did by providing title documents of his house.

However in 1999, while the documents on the house were still with the court, Amandi executed a mortgage with the Social Security Bank (SSB) with forged documents of the same house at Lartebiokorshie for the sum of 73,000 pounds sterling.

The court ruled that by Amandi's action, he breached judicial orders of the court.

The ruling that was read by Mr Justice Kofi Acquaah on behalf of Mr Justice Nana Gyamera Tawiah, said Amandi's action demonstrates his total disregard to the judicial process in Ghana and towards a superior court.

He said " Amandi has shown no respect for the authority of the court and it was the duty of the courts to deal swiftly with such matters with sanctions to maintain the sanctity of the courts." He said the court took into consideration the remorse shown by the accused person for the court to impose such sentence.