Dr. Hassan Ayariga, founder of the All People’s Congress (APC), has sued the Ga East Municipal Assembly, for demolishing portions of a fenced wall he put up around his portion of land, around the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Haatso.
According to Dr. Ayariga, in the year 2012, he acquired some parcels of land, approximately two acres in size at Haatso, from the Odai-Ntow Family of Ashongman, in the joint names of himself and his wife, Anita Ayariga.
The Plaintiff claims that they purchased the said parcels of land, for the purpose of constructing a playground, with other ancillary facilities for the surrounding communities, as part of their philanthropic works and contributions to the development of Ghana.
He avers that he went into immediate possession of the said parcels of land and put some people on the lands, who were engaged in vegetable farming for many years, and who were also in charge of security.
According to the APC founder, in the first quarter of 2018, he commenced the construction of block fence walls around the parcels of land to safeguard the land from possible encroachers amongst other reasons.
The Plaintiff avers that sometime in June 2018, officers of the Ga East Municipal Assembly approached him for the purposes of securing a building permit for the fence wall being constructed, for which he issued a cheque, together with other documentary requirements for the issue of building permit as requested, but the cheque was returned by the officers of the defendants, with the excuse that they preferred a cash payment, which the Plaintiff resisted to avoid pilfering of government resources.
According Dr. Ayariga, out of anger and show of brutal force, officers of the Ga East Municipal Assembly, under the guise of undertaking their usual or lawful activity, in the company of some military and police officers, in July 2018, demolished portions of the fence wall, despite resistance from him and his workers who were at the time working on the land.
Dr. Ayariga has stated the value of the portions of the demolished fence wall as GHC 250,000.00, and that at all material times, he had done everything to obtain the requisite building permit, but the defendant deliberately, unreasonably and unlawfully refused to grant the permit, with the object of breaking down the fence wall, for its ulterior motives.
Dr. Hassan Ayariga, amongst other reliefs, has sought a perpetual injunction restraining the municipal assembly from interfering with his interest and/or possession of the said parcels of land.
Source: GhanaJustice/F.Kyeremateng
