Tsopoli elders accuse land claimant of encroaching on Saglemi housing land
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Elders of the Tsopoli Traditional Council in the Ningo-Prampram District have accused a land claimant of erecting boundary pillars on ancestral land around the Saglemi Housing project with the backing of armed police, and want the Lands Commission to explain the alleged allocation.
The Head of Family and elders of the Tsopoli Traditional Council in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region have raised alarm over alleged attempts by an individual identified as Nii Tackie to take control of portions of their ancestral lands around the Saglemi Housing project.
At a press conference in Tsopoli on Sunday, 1 November, the traditional leaders accused Nii Tackie of persistently encroaching on land they insist belongs to the people of Tsopoli and their ancestors. They alleged that he recently entered the disputed area accompanied by armed police officers and began erecting boundary pillars, reportedly justifying the exercise by claiming that the Lands Commission had allocated the land to him.
The press conference brought together traditional and family leaders including Alhaji Ibrahim Ayiku, Head of the Sausisi Family; Chief Imam Abdulai Agbo, Chief of Someh; Numo Ofori Kumordzi Sodjah, Head of Sodja Wem; family elders Akuteye Joseph Nathan and Tetteh Kumordzi; and Tawiah Sodjah, Chairman of the Sausisi Family.
The elders described the alleged activities as provocative and unlawful and accused Nii Tackie of disregarding the authority and customs of the Tsopoli Traditional Council. They called on the Inspector-General of Police and other state authorities to investigate the alleged involvement of police personnel in intimidating residents and farmers, and questioned references he is said to make to a powerful individual he describes as being "above". "Who is this above? Is the above bigger than the laws of Ghana?" they asked.
While reaffirming that Tsopoli is a peace-loving traditional area, the council warned that the community's patience was being stretched, though it had no intention of taking the law into its own hands. The elders appealed to President John Dramani Mahama, the IGP, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources and the Lands Commission to intervene urgently, and demanded clarification on how land associated with the Saglemi Affordable Housing Project could allegedly have been allocated to a private individual.