Fear and panic gripped teeming youth, land developers and custodian land owners in Ayikai Doblo in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The frightening development followed the recent dangerous move by a self-styled caretaker of Ayikai Doblo Stool Lands, Mr James Laryea aka Ashia to allegedly hire some police officers from the Combat Unit of the Ghana Police Service Headquarters with the supreme support of police officers from the Amasaman District Police Command and Airport Police Station to constantly visit mayhem at some residents in the area.
This action was ostensibly taken by Mr James Laryea in order to pave way for him to continue to sell the vast acres of lands belonging to the Ayikai Doblo Stool which situation has made some distraught youth contemplating to leave the Ayikai Doblo community for the fear of being attacked and arrested by the police.
Information available indicates that on Friday May 23, 2020 a team of police believed to be hired police officers by Mr James Laryeh aka Ashia stormed Ayikai Doblo township to unlawfully arrest twenty three (23)) young men, thereby accusing them of landguard operatiions.
The police officers on orders of Mr James Laryey were said to have reportedly arrested the young men and succeeded in taking away Mr Paul Among, who the police claimed was the leader of the young men to the Amasaman District Police Command and later transferred him to Airport District Police Command and detain him for three days.
In the wake of the unfortunate incident, the guns wilding police officers were reported to have also seized and took away a brand new jagel motor bike belonging to one of the victims, who gives his name as First Boy without any apparent reasons.
Narrating his ordeal in an with this reporter, Mr Paul Among, a sand reload excavator machine operator, married with the two children lamented that he was subjected to the severe beatings by some officers when he was detained in the police cell in Airport District Police Command with the wrong accusation to the effect that he (Paul Among) is a ring leader of land-guard operatives in Ayikai Doblo community.
A 23-year-old Mr Paul Among who stated that he was still enduring pains in his entire body complained that he was beating by the police officers in Airport District Police Command after Mr James Laryey Ashia has paid some goodies to the police and ordered the police officers in his presence, that they should deal with him.
Meanwhile, many principal and accredited elders of Ayikai Doblo, the custodian owners of Ayikai Doblo Stool lands interviewed over the matter described the land-guards tags labelled on the young men in the area by Mr Laryea as “factually incorrect and complete lies.”
“In the fact we want to make it clear that our young people are not land-guards as being claimed by Mr James Laryea and the police. There are no landguard operatives in Ayikai Doblo community. The majority of young people in Ayikai Doblo are students, professional drivers, driver mates and commercial business men,” the elders of Ayikai Doblo community made these clarification in an interview with this reporter.
According to the elders, there are no land-guard operating activities in regard of the sale of the lands to the prospective developers and organizations in the area.
They insisted that the tracts of lands at Ayikai Doblo community are stool lands under the Akamajay Divisional Council in Accra.
According to the elders, there are no land-guard operating activities in regard of the sale of the lands to the prospective developers and organizations in the area.
They noted that the claims by James Laryea that he is caretaker of the Ayikai Doblo Stool lands was completely false, saying that Mr Laryea did not have traditional capacity to hold that crucial position in Ayikai Doblo community of the Ga State.
They declared that the only recognized person who was legelly empowered by the Akumajey Traditional Council headed by Nii Ayika III to represent the Akumajey Royal Stool in all matters relating to lands transaction of Ga Mashie is Nii Dodoo Amu aka T.J Azonto.
They said since time immemorial Ayikai Doblo lands has been a family stool and still remains so, adding that the power of attorney granted Mr Nii Dood Amu is genuine and legal which still holds.
However a certified document dated November 18, 2013, with signatories of the Stool Secretary of Akumanjen Divisional Council of Ga Traditional Area, Nii Ayikai III, and Mr. Decarlo Quainoo, showed that “Nii Ayikwa III and his elders in Ga Mashie with the consent and concurrence of the chiefs of the Akumanjen Stool have appointed Mr. Dodoo as the true and lawful attorney of Ayikai Doblo Stool land.”
The document, states that Nii Amu Dodoo, who is a royal and a native of Ayikai Doblo in the Ga State, is now on behalf of Nii Ayikai III in charge of all matters relating to lands in Ayikai Doblo.
The document reads: “As part of his duty, he is to do all things whatsoever which in the opinion of my said Attorney shall be expedient to execute for me and on my behalf. Mr. Dodoo is also without prejudice to the generality of the forgoing power to represent me as such customarily and legally in all matters that affect the stool interest.”
According to the statement, Nii Amu Dodoo is to commence, persecute, defend and answer all actions and other legal proceedings and demands touching on any of the matters in connection with the Ayikai Doblo lands.
They pointed out that the long standing fictitious move by Mr James Laryea to describe the youth and some principal elders who are custodian land owners of Ayikai Doblo Stool lands as the land-guards is ostensibly to paint the people black which would give equal chance to sell Ayikai Dobo Stool Lands to some unsuspecting land developers.
“Our land business transactions are land-guards free,” the elders said and accused Amasaman District Police Command and some officers in Ghana Police Service Headquarters in Accra of assisting Mr James Laryea Ashia and his followers to cause mayhem in Ayikai Doblo which hitherto has created insecurity in the area,” they indicated.
They explained that since Mr James Laryey Ashia came from Nigeria to Accra, he over lords all citizens of Ayikai Doblo and allegedly teamed up with some top police officers in the Amasaman District Police Command, Airport District Police Command and Ghana Police Service Headquarters in Accra to indiscriminately sell the Ayikai Doblo Stool lands to innocent individuals land developers and organizations.
“Mr James Laryea Ashia with the help of the protection of some police officers are selling our lands to some prospective land buyers. Even Mr James Laryea and his police counter parts are currently planning to sell out the portions of the lands allocated by the elders of Ayikai Doblo Stool for the building of market center, schools, Lorry Park, stadium, roads, children playing ground, community center, Football Park and hospital,” they reaffirmed.
Mr Laryea, according to the elders is responsible for the many injuries and deaths that had occurred over land disputes in Ayikai Doblo and called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to warn the police from the Amasaman, Accra Police Headquarters and Airport Police District Commands to stop meddling in land affairs in Ayikai Doblo instead of being peace-maintaining officers.
They disclosed that a team of police officers from the Ghana Police Service Headquarters a couple of weeks ago were hired again by Mr James Laryea to unlawfully attack workers of the land developers who had legelly bought from the elders of Ayikai Doblo Stool.
They disclosed that a team of police officers from the Ghana Police Service Headquarters a couple of weeks ago were hired again by Mr James Laryea to unlawfully attack workers of the land developers who had legally bought from the elders of Ayikai Doblo Stool.
They indicated that the police officers recently came to the site with two branded Ghana Police Service Toyota pick-up vehicles with registration No.GP4639 Ash colour and GP 4652 black colour and upon alighting, were holding pump action guns and started destroying the footings foundation of the building structures by the land developers and drove the workers away from the site.
The Paramount Chief of Akamajay Traditional Area, Nii Ayika III, Akwei Allotey aka Numo Kpakpo I, Nii Dodoo Amu aka T.J Azonto and Osumanu Odartey Lamptey the (plaintiffs in the case) describing themselves as the genuine custodian owners of Ayikai Doblo Stool lands have dragged eleven people including Mr James Laryea to an Accra High Court Land Division in their bid to restrain them (defendants/respondents) from trespassing on the Ayikai Doblo Stool lands in the Ga State.
The plaintiffs are pleading with the High Court to restrain the repondents from engaging in sales of the Ayikai Doblo Stool lands in Accra until the final determination of the case by the court.
The defendants in the case are James Laryea aka Ashia, Kingdom Hope Avenue School located at Ofankor in Accra, Haruna Laryea Amartey, Nii Kpakpa Quartey, Abdul Rauf-Hamidu, Kas Estate Ghana Limited at Weija, Accra, Issac Sowah, Asafoanye Atswei, the Surveyor Samuel Ofori Akoto, Emmanuel Nii Armah Quao and Okaikoi Teachers of Land.
A statement of claim of the case filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by the Azinyo Chambers, a legal firm at Adabraka in Accra, a legal firm, dated on Thursday May 27, 2020, asking the court to stop the defendants whether by themselves their agents, servants, privies, assigns and workmen from trespassing or interfering with the plaintiffs stool lands at Ayikai Doblo community.
The pleaded with the court to declare that the defendants have no rights to alienate any percel of Ayikai Doblo Stool land in the name of Tetteh Annan family of Ayikai Doblo Yomo Aba Ashawah family of Ntafrafa, Nii Adjei Kojo Ayikai, joint heads of Ayikai family of Ayikai Doblo, the three royal families of Ayikai Doblo, and/or Kas Estate Company Limited.
The plaintiffs are pleading with the High Court to restrain the respondents from engaging in sales of the Ayikai Doblo Stool lands in Accra until the final determination of the case by the court.
They noted that the defendants/respondents were planning to go ahead to sell Ayikai Doblo Stool lands to some unsuspecting customers despite the pendency of the case.
They said the intended acts of the defendants/respondents would not only undermine the authority of the court but also cause chaos and likely result in bloody clashes between factions.
They also prayed the court not to allow the defendants to take the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in Ayikai Doblo in the Ga State for granted, “since there is no doubt among reasonable law-abiding natives of Ayika Doblo that there is simmering tension over misconduct of Mr James Laryea to use police officers to arrest the youth in the area.
Story: Freeman KORYEKPOR AWLESU
