Hassan Ayariga drags Ga East Municipal Assembly to court
Hassan Ayariga, Founder of the All Peoples Congress, has filed a suit against the Ga East Municipal Assembly at an Accra High Court following the demolition of his over GH¢1 million fence wall and security post on his 2.8 acre land at Haatso in Accra.
Ayariga is seeking a perpetual injunction against the assembly, its agents, assigns servants from interfering with the said parcel of land.
The All Peoples Congress (APC) leader is further praying the court for GH¢1,239,500 as special damages against the Ga East Municipal Assembly.
Ayariga is praying the court for interest on the same amount GH¢1,239,500, representing the cost of the building material and labour used in the construction of the fence wall, at the prevailing bank rate.
Additionally, the APC founder is seeking general damages for trespass, destruction of wall and cost of his legal fees.
Ayariga in his Statement of Claim indicated that the Ga East Municipal Assembly is in charge of development and related works in the Abokobi Municipality.
He said sometime in 2012, he and his wife, Anita Ayariga acquired over two acres of land at Haatso near the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission from the Odai-Ntow family of Ashongman, Accra.
According to the plaintiff, he bought the said parcels of land for the construction of a playground with other ancillary facilities for the surrounding communities as part of their philanthropic work and their contribution to development of the country.
The plaintiff stated that he went into immediate possession of the said land and placed some people who were in charge of security and engaged them in vegetable farming.
Plaintiff said in the first quarter of this year (2018) he commenced with the construction of block fence wall around the parcels of land to safeguard the land from encroachers, among others.
Ayariga said sometime in June this year, officers of the Ga East Municipal Assembly approached him over building permit for the fence wall being constructed and he issued a cheque and other documentary requirement for the permit as required.
“After some back and forth with officers of the defendants, the cheque issued for the permit was returned with the excuse that they preferred cash payment.”
In July this year, the plaintiff said the assembly’s officers in the company of some Military and Police Personnel demolished portions of the fence wall which was about eight feet despite the resistance of his workers who were then working on the land.
According to the Plaintiff, the value of the portions of the fence wall stood at GH¢250,000, adding that they spent almost the same amount to reconstruct the destruction caused.
The plaintiff averred that the defendant destroyed the property without any notice to him as required by law and the conduct was not only unlawful but “unwarranted and unreasonable.”
He said after informing the defendant of his intent to sue, the assembly wrote to him on August this year.
The plaintiff said he caused his lawyers to respond to the letter annexing the necessary documents and demonstrated the reasons why the wall should not have been pulled down.
According to the plaintiff, he had followed up several times to regularise the building permit, but the assembly refused to give him the building permit without assigning any reasons.
Instead, plaintiff contended that the defendant unlawfully entered the land for the second time at midnight and completely pulled down the “12 feet fence wall, one feet thickness and the security post constructed.”
The plaintiff held that “the defendant’s public utterance was clear that it was interested in the parcel of land” owned by him.
Source: GNA