IBRAHIM ABUBAKAR v. SADIQ MOHAMMED ABUBAKAR

The Plaintiff herein issued a Writ of Summons together with an Affidavit in support against the Defendant on 27/01/22 claiming the following reliefs;

1. An order for the eviction of the Defendant from the Plaintiff’s land lying and situate at Magazine Ada a suburb of Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

2. Order for the defendant to pay GH₵250.00 to the plaintiff as rent arrears from 2016 till date.

3. Interest on the said amount from MAY, 2020 till date of final payment.

4. General damages for breach of contract.

5. Cost incidental to the suit

6. Any further order (s) this Honourable Court deems fit.

THE PLAINTIFF’S CASE

In brief, it is the Plaintiff’s case that he owns a piece and parcel of land lying and situated at Ada Magazine which he rented to the Defendant from February 2013 to February 2015 at an amount of GHS 240.00. That the said agreement was renewed for further 2 years from January 2015 to expire in January 2017 at GHS 300 yearly. The crux of Plaintiff’s case is that since 2017, the Defendant has refused to pay rent, hence this action.

THE DEFENDANT’S CASE

The summary of the Defendant’s case is that after the second agreement elapsed, he sent an amount of GHS 900.00 to one of his workers to pay to the Plaintiff for 3 years rent advance from 2017-2020 which Plaintiff did not give any receipt for the said payment. The Defendant admits that he still works on the said land but has refused to pay rent because the Government had acquired some portion of land close to where he works for construction of a dam and as such the land he works on does not belong to the Plaintiff therefore he needs not pay him any rent.

It is trite and stated in a plethora of legal authorities that the burden of proof in civil cases is on the preponderance of probabilities and the party who makes an assertion must lead cogent evidence in proof of same.

Upon a critical evaluation of the evidence led by both parties, the determination of the case herein shall turn on whether or not the Plaintiff is entitled to his reliefs.

The first relief sought by the Plaintiff is for the eviction of the defendant from the Plaintiff’s land described above.

Section 17(1)(a) of the Rent Act, 1963 (Act 220) provides that:

17. Recovery of possession and ejectment

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of section 25 and to section 28, an order against a tenant for the recovery of the possession of, or for the ejectment from, any premises shall not be made or given by the Rent