NII AHINQUASRO BADDOO & OTHERS v. NII TETTEY OKPE II & OTHERS

Welbourne (Mrs) JA

This is an appeal against the decision of the High Court, Accra delivered on the 31st day of May, 2017.

Brief Facts:

The facts of the case are that the Plaintiffs/Respondents by an Amended Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim dated the 20th day of June, 2013 sued the Defendants/Appellants for the reliefs endorsed thereon.

It was the case of the Plaintiffs that the Nii Larbi Mensah We Family (also known as the Sempe Family) were the owners of all that piece of land situate, lying and being at Ablekuma covering an approximate area of 14.37 square miles or 9201.48 square feet. It was their case further that the land in dispute, a village known as Amamole, of which the 1st Appellant is the chief, formed part of the aforementioned Ablekuma Lands. It was averred further that the land in dispute was a farm cottage of Nii Larbi II of Sempe and he placed a certain Tetteh Korblah on the cottage as a caretaker. The Defendants/Appellants who were alleged to be subjects of the Ablekuma stool were occupying the Amamole land in that capacity. The Plaintiffs/Respondents finally alleged that the Defendants/Appellants were illegally claiming Amamole lands for themselves.

At trial the Plaintiffs/Respondents tendered Exhibit A, a Statutory Declaration; Exhibit B, a Site Plan and Exhibit E, a Judgment of the James Town Tribunal in proof of their title to the land in dispute. Other exhibits in the form of Search Reports and Indentures were also tendered in evidence of the Defendants/Appellants ‘alleged unlawful alienation of the land in dispute.

For their part, it was the Appellants case that Amamole is not part of Ablekuma or Sempe Stool and was rather under the James Town Stool. It was further claimed that Amamole did not share boundaries with Ablekuma but with Abbeyman/Oshuiman Lands which lands lie between Amamole and Ablekuma. Exhibit 3 (found at pages 66 to 84 of the record of appeal), an order from the High Court Accra, confirming the lands claimed by the Defendants/Appellants. The Defendants/Appellants denied trespassing on the Ablekuma Land.

At trial, the 1st Defendants at page 469 of the Record of Proceedings gave evidence of how Amamole Village was founded by Nii Tettey Okpe in 1737, who was allowed to settle on the land by Nii Wetse Kodjo, the founder of Engleshie James Town Alata.

After a full trial, the trial Judge entered judgment for the Plaintiffs/Respondents, granting all their reliefs.

Aggrieved by this decision, the Defendants/A