EBUSUAPANYIN JOHN PEPE ABAIDOO vs EBUSUAPANYIN EKOW AWOTWE & ORS
2024
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HIS LORDSHIP JUSTICE BERNARD BENTIL
Areas of Law
- Civil Procedure
- Property and Real Estate Law
2024
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This interpleader suit involves a claim to a piece of land by Claimant, Annan Jackson, against a prior judgment which awarded the property to the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor. Despite Jackson's arguments of ancestral ties and allegations of fraud in the initial suit's judgment, the court ruled against him, emphasizing the need for the Claimant to establish ownership based on the balance of probabilities and invalidating the use of interpleader suits to challenge judgments on fraud grounds.
This is an interpleader suit arising out of a claim by the Claimant, Annan Jackson, to piece of land adjudged to be the property of the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor in the substantive suit against the 1st and 3rd Defendants/Judgment Debtors.
The facts giving rise to this instant suit are that by an Amended Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim filed on 21st June, 2017 the Plaintiff/Judgement Creditor claimed against the Defendants in the original suit the following reliefs: a. An order directed against the 2nd Defendant to expunge from their records the statutory declarations of the 1st and 3rd Defendants ploꢀed on their records.
b. Damages for trespass against the 1st and 3rd Defendants.
c. Recovery of possession of all lands covered by the statutory declaration of 1st and 3rd Defendants.
d. Perpetual injunction restraining 1st and 3rd Defendants from having anything to do with Plaintiff’s landed properties.
The claims of the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor were barely contested as the Defendants, despite service of all process on them failed to participate in the trial.
This Court, differently constituted, after the hearing the Plaintiff and the evidence adduced by the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor, entered judgment in favour of the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor on 5th December, 2019 for all the reliefs sought.
The Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor subsequently obtained leave of Court to issue a Writ of Possession in the enforcement of the judgment obtained in his favour whereby he took possession of the land adjudged in his favour.
In the affidavit of interest filed by the Claimant on 14th November, 2022 he deposed that he is the Ebusuapanyin of the Kona Royal family of Moree and the subject maꢀer of this instant suit is known as Bomis and belongs to his Kona royal family thus does not belong to the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor.
He further deposed that the virgin forest of the disputed land was broken many years ago by his ancestors who migrated from Adansi in the Ashanti Region southwards and seꢀled within the environs of Moree.
The disputed land (Bomis) shares boundaries with the Ekon or Queen Ann’s point village and Ekon lagoon as well as the Gulf of Guinea and with Kona family lands all round it including Green Hill lands, Addison square spot, Moree barrier, Moree junction among others.
The land also shares boundaries with Brafo Yaw and Eguase and measures 218. 181 acres or 88. 363 hectares.
The Claimant further deposed that the Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor’s predeces