What Abronye's lawyer said after winning GH¢20 million Randy Abbey suit

Daniel Martey Addo, the lead counsel of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC), has spoken after his client's victory in the GH¢20 million defamation suit filed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr Randy Abbey, against him.

Speaking to the media after the court ruling on January 22, 2026, Martey Addo, who is the Managing Counsel at Nkrumah & Associates, indicated that the laws of the country were written and interpreted by the court.

He said that Dr Abbey’s use of the legal department of COCOBOD in the case represented a conflict of interest, a point they made which the court agreed with.

“As we raised earlier, that the court should dismiss the writ and the statement of claim on the grounds that there is a conflict of interest situation, and the plaintiff is using the COCOBOD Legal Department and also using the Legal Director, who is the solicitor-secretary for COCOBOD,

“The judge agreed with us, and then she made a ruling that truly, there was some procedural defectiveness with the written statement of claim issued,” he said.

He added, “At least our clients can rest, and then the law is the law. The judge has made a pronouncement, and that is the order of the day.”

High Court throws out Randy Abbey's defamation suit against Abronye

About the case

Dr Abbey filed a suit on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, seeking GH¢20 million in damages for what he described as malicious and false claims made by Abronye during a public broadcast.

Court documents indicate that Abronye accused Dr Abbey of misusing public resources and engaging in corrupt practices at COCOBOD.

Specifically, he alleged that Dr Abbey transported a personal chair from Accra to cocoa farms using multiple state-owned Land Cruisers, rather than using chairs provided by farmers.

Abronye further accused Dr Abbey of manipulating internal appointments to facilitate the embezzlement of public funds.

These statements, which were broadcast publicly and widely circulated on social media, were said to have caused significant damage to Dr Abbey's reputation, exposing him to public ridicule and contempt.

In the suit, which was filed through COCOBOD's Legal Department, Dr Abbey sought a court declaration that Abronye's comments were defamatory.

He also demanded a full retraction and an unqualified apology to be published across all platforms on which the allegations were made, as well as the removal of all defamatory content from the internet.

The lawsuit further sought general, punitive and compensatory damages totalling GH¢20 million, a perpetual injunction restraining Abronye from making further defamatory statements, coverage of legal costs, and any other relief the court might deem appropriate.

The presiding judge, Justice Halimah El-Alawa Abdul Baasit, explained that the defect arose from Dr Abbey's use of COCOBOD's Legal Department to prosecute a personal defamation claim.

"Although the said publication was made against the Plaintiff with respect to his current position as the CEO of COCOBOD, COCOBOD is not a named party in this instant suit as to warrant the Legal Department to issue the writ, with the Legal Director of COCOBOD acting as counsel for the Plaintiff.

"The Plaintiff, having sued in his personal capacity, ought to procure the services of a private legal practitioner to represent him. I therefore find the writ of summons and statement of claim to be procedurally defective, and same is dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs," the part of the ruling read.

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