JUDGEMENT

ADJEI-FRIMPONG, JSC:

My Lords, for the second time in a few months, this Court is being called upon to pronounce on the ownership of the land, subject matter of this suit. The earlier decision was delivered on 18th December 2024 in the suit intituled NUMO ALFRED QUAYE VRS EDUSEI POKU, Suit No. J4/15/2022. On account of the apparent legal implications the earlier decision bears upon this, we desire to recount what transpired therein in some detail. Henceforth the earlier case will be referred to as the “EDUSEI POKU’S CASE.

The Plaintiff therein Numo Alfred Quaye who is the same Plaintiff/Respondent/Appellant/Cross-Respondent here (herein ‘Plaintiff’) commenced that suit in the High Court against a certain Lawyer Edusei Poku who died in the course of those proceedings. He was substituted for by his wife Veronica who pursued the matter up to this Court. The claim the Plaintiff made which was not any different from what obtains here was that, the land in dispute belonged to his Ayiku Gberbie Family of Prampram. He alleged that the Defendant Edusei Poku had trespassed onto a portion of the land measuring 5.66 acres for which he sought the following reliefs against him:

A. A declaration of title to all that piece or parcel of land situate, lying and being at Afienya, Mataheko in the Greater Accra Region of the Republic of Ghana and bounded on the south-east by Tema-Ho motor road, measuring 10,717.7 feet more or less, on the south-west by 9,725.1 feet more or less, on the north by a distance of 551.6 feet more or less, on the north-east by a distance of 3,439.4 feet more or less, on the north-west by the lessor’s property measuring 3,058.9 feet more or less, on the north-east by the lessor’s property measuring 2,107.8 feet more or less and contained approximate area of 1,112.09 acres or 450.0 hectares more or less.

B. Damages for trespass.

C. An order for the recovery of vacant possession of the portion of the land measuring 5.66 acres trespassed onto by the Defendant.

D. Perpetual injunction to restrain the defendant by himself, agents, workmen and all claiming through him from interfering with plaintiff’s ownership, possession and/or enjoyment of the land.

E. Any other reliefs found due.

The Defendant resisted the Plaintiff’s claim stating that he lawfully acquired his 5.8-acre land from the Prampram Paramount Stool then occupied by Nene Larbi Agbo III, who acted with the consent and concu