Disputed Tema Land: Security Minister Bryan Acheampong Accused Of Abusing Office

The Minister of State in charge of National Security and Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi Constituency, Bryan Acheampong, is on the verge of being dragged to court over his alleged arbitrary use of his office and power to secure private property.

Other personalities who may also be whipped into 'single file' to the court include Col Michael Opoku, who is responsible for Operations at National Security.

A Tema-based legal practitioner, Mohammed Attah, in a letter of NOTICE OF INTENTION TO COMMENCE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, dated August 27, 2018, addressed to the Minister of National Security and copied to the Office of the President, wanted these officials to be called to order, failure of which he would proceed to court

The following is the full letter:
“We act as Lawyers for and on behalf of the Executors of the Late Edmund Ansah Otupiri (Allas Kwesi Ansah) of Tema and CEDAR CONCRETE GHANA LIMITED of Gbetsile, Tema and have their firm instructions to write to you and give you Notice of their intention to institute an action in Court, in respect of their properties (land) and building thereon, located at Gbetsile, Tema.

That Probate was granted by the Tema High Court in January 2011 to the Executors to administer the Probate of the aforementioned Estate, which included the aforementioned land.

The Cedar Concrete has been renting this property from the Late Otupiri and subsequently his Executors and beneficiaries in or about the year 2000-2016. He has Tenancy Agreements and has been in possession of the property to date.

In or about 2016, the Cedar Concrete Company Limited decided to purchase the land and did so by a contract of sale with building thereon from the Executors and beneficiaries of the Estate and has since paid valuable consideration for the land/properties.

Cedar Concrete Company Limited has offices and a block factory and is visible operating on aforementioned land since the year 2000 to date.

It is, therefore, surprising that Hon. Bryan Acheampong will with his eyes wide open go and allegedly buy the said land and use his position, office and authority with brute force, dispossess the occupants to his land by using the state apparatus, precisely one Colonel Michael Opoku with his National Security men and the SWAT UNIT.

They have on several occasions since June 2018 used force to destroy properties on the land and beaten the occupants and arrested them.

A report was made to the Tema Regional Police Commander who has advised them that they cannot use force to evict the occupant of the land but they should proceed to court for a court order to remove our clients and cannot use brute force.

They have since failed and keep using the National Security apparatus with force to invade the land and dispossess the occupants of same.

Our clients' instructions are clear that Hon. Bryan Acheampong and Nathan Marfo are alleged to have bought the land precisely in the name of an undisclosed company.

They have also referred our clients to the Police Headquarters, who are investigating the matter, and despite the fact that the police have advised the parties to go to court, Colonel Opoku and Hon. Bryan Acheampong are still compromising their positions and using force to develop the land.

As of now, they have even constructed a fence wall, with the protection of officers from the National Security, around the offices and the factory of our clients. This, certainly, is a show of brute force, which is unacceptable in today's Ghana.

We are humbly bringing the conduct of the said officers to your attention, and praying your good office to intervene and call them to order.

It is clear that they are abusing the office of National Security and the Ministry of Defence where they report to.

They are also using the office to perpetrate their illegality, hence, this statutory notice of our intention to commence action against them and the institutions they work under.

Please take notice that if they do not abate the unlawful conduct by the use of their office or their respective ministries, failing to call them to order, for which they send officers to the land to use force to work, we have no other option than to proceed to court accordingly.

By a copy of this letter, the Ministry of Defence, the IGP, the Ministry of National Security and the Office of the President are accordingly informed and notified.”