Greater Accra REGSEC takes over security at Borteyman, Adjirigannor disputed lands

The Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has declared Borteyman, Adjirigannor and its environs, a security zone following what it says are intelligence reports it has pick-up on imminent clashes between feuding factions in the area.

In a press statement issued by the Regional Security Council dated Thursday 16 February 2023, the Council says it “has picked up intelligence on the likelihood of imminent clashes between two (2) feuding factions in Borteyman and Adjirigannor enclave, particularly, Top Kings Limited and Empire Builders”.

“Therefore, in line with our mandate as stipulated in the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030), section 7 which among other things indicates that REGSEC should take immediate steps to ensure law and order, the Regional Security Council at an emergency meeting held on Thursday, 16 February, 2023 has taken the following decisions;

“The entire area under dispute has been declared a security zone. Effective today, Thursday, 16 February, 2023, REGSEC has taken over security of the area” the REGSEC statement read.

“REGSEC would deploy security personnel to the area to ensure peace and calm and all landguard activities should cease henceforth. These decisions have been taken considering the fact that the situation has become a recipe for disaster and a cause for security concern in the region” the statement further noted.

Taking sides

The Regional Security Council in their press release also noted that by their decisions, they are in no way “challenging the decisions of the courts, nor seeking to interpret the court’s decision, nor determining who the actual owners of the land in dispute are.

“We are doing this to ensure there is no breach of the peace in the entire area in dispute and region as a whole. We therefore appeal to the Media to be circumspect in their reportage in order not to inflame passions that might undermine the security of the area” the Greater Accra REGSEC noted in their statement.

Background

From 1998 to 2020, Empire Builders Limited, a subsidiary of real estate giants, Trassaco Group, instituted action against Top Kings and the litigation travelled from the High Court through the Court of Appeal and ended at the Supreme Court in the favour of Top Kings.

When the action was instituted against Top Kings at the High Court in suit No. L49/99, Empire secured an order of Interim Injunction to restrain Top Kings from developing the land.

The case travelled all the way to the Supreme Court for a period of 22 years with all the courts dismissing Empire Builders Limited claims to the land.

After the Supreme Court judgment on December 16, 2020, Top Kings decided to return to the land to develop same.
But there is still a disagreement between the parties with counter press conferences and accusations followed by numerous police arrests of agents and workers from both sides following complaints of trespass.

According to Top Kings, Empire Builders engaged the Police, National Security personnel and the Ghana Armed Forces to prevent Top Kings development of the land alleging that the land Top Kings has entered did not form part of the land the parties litigated over for 22 years ending at the Supreme Court.

Empire Builders commenced a fresh action at the High Courts in Accra and Adenta in 2021 to stop Top Kings and its assigns from developing the land alleging that, that portion of the land was not covered by the Supreme Court judgment.

Both cases at the Accra and Adenta High Courts were dismissed basically on the grounds that they constitute an abuse of Court process in view of the Supreme Court judgement. A further appeal by Empire Builders to the Court of Appeal was also dismissed.

Empire Builders did not exercise its right to proceed to the Supreme Court in respect of its allegation that Top Kings has gone beyond the land subject matter of the Supreme Court judgment dated December 16, 2020.

Top Kings has claimed that what Empire Builders has resorted to is to have the police cause the arrest of workers of Top Kings and its assignees whenever they attempt to develop the land.

According Top Kings, the police in “complete disrespect to the Judiciary inclusive of the Supreme Court” are preventing Top Kings and its grantees from developing the land by having police patrol vehicles always visiting the land in the company of officials of Empire Builders to cause arrest of workmen of Top Kings and its grantees.

Top Kings has explained that the police have been telling grantees of Top Kings who follow up to the C.I.D Headquarters to secure the release of their arrested workmen, to ignore the various court judgments in favour of Top Kings because the land belongs to Empire Builders Ltd.

The Police have been inviting Top Kings and the Nungua stool to their office purportedly to investigate a complaint of trespass and double sale of land lodged by Empire Builders, according to Top Kings.

And on each occasion, Top Kings lawyers made it clear to them that the Empire Builders Ltd. claim has been dismissed repeatedly by all the courts and indeed copies of all the judgments have been made available to the police.

Regardless of the numerous judgments denying and dismissing Empire Builders Ltd. claims, brought to the attention of the police, the police insist that the parties must compromise and resolve the dispute and insist that Top Kings and its grantees will not be allowed to develop the land until a compromise is reached with Empire Builders Ltd.

The Police CID invited Top Kings for another meeting with the C.E.O of Empire Builders Ltd at the CID headquarters on December 23, 2022 and Top Kings turned it down with the explanation that it does not intend to compromise after 24 years of litigation that has ended in its favour.