Businessman accused of illegal land sale jumps bail

The Adentan Circuit Court has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a businessman, Alhassan Hardi Mohammed, accused of illegally selling land, for jumping bail.

The businessman, accused of selling land without title and granted bail by the court where he was due to appear yesterday, failed to turn up.

Police Chief Inspector Max­well Lanyo, prosecuting, told the court that the complainant is a driver, who lives at Adoteiman, while accused is also a business­man living at Ashaley Botwe, in the Greater Accra Region.

The court heard that in March, 2022, complainant, who was then in London, United Kingdom, and wanted to buy land contacted a friend, who introduced accused as a land dealer, who could help him acquire land.

Chief Insp Lanyo stated that the accused convinced the com­plainant that he had acquired land genuinely, and the com­plainant agreed to buy five plots of land at GH¢320,000 with each plot costing GH¢70,000.

The court heard that the complainant paid GH¢69,050 into accused’s Commercial Bank account and also paid GH¢250,950 through his broth­er-in-law after which the accused issued an indenture signed by James Nii Mensah Okpoti Ko­dua of Oyarifa.

Chief Insp Lanyo told the court that the complainant fenced around the land and drilled two boreholes on the land.

The prosecution said that in January 2023, the government embarked on a demarcation and demolition exercise at Amrahia dairy farmland, after which portions of the land in the en­clave were released to the chiefs of Arabia, Kweiman, Santa, and Oyarifa.

Chief Insp Lanyo said that after that exercise, part of the complainant's land went into Kweiman and part also went into Amrahia, making the com­plainant to lose the land entirely.

The court was told that the accused relocated the com­plainant to an area at East Legon Hills and gave him a plot of land there.

Chief Insp Lanyo said when the complainant made enquiries, he was told the accused did not own land there.

The prosecution said the accused again relocated the complainant to an area near Katamanso and told him to work on two plots of land, and the complainant conveyed building materials from the former disputed place to renew the site and start building.

Chief Insp Lanyo informed the court that during the construction, a policeman stopped the complainant from working, claiming ownership of the land.

The court said the com­plainant reported the matter to the police and the accused was arrested.

Chief Insp Lanyo said during investigation, accused told police that he bought the land from James Nii Mensah Okpoti Kodua of Oyarifa, but he was not given any document to that effect.

The court heard that accused sold the land to complainant when it was under government control and he did not have any documents covering the land he sold to the complainant.

Chief Insp Lanyo said accused was charged with the offence while efforts were being made to arrest Nii Mensah Ok­poti Kodua for questioning