Top Kings vs. Empire: REGSEC declares disputed Adjiringanor / Borteyman land security zone

The Greater Accra Regional Security Council (REGSEC) has declared the tract of land under dispute at the Adjiringanor and Borteyman (Trassaco and Kings Cottage) enclave a security zone.

Subsequently, the council has directed the feuding factions in the disputed land – Top Kings Enterprise Limited and Empire Builders Limited - to stay off the land with immediate effect.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, who gave the directive at a press conference today (February 16, 2023), said the decision was arrived at following intelligence the REGSEC had picked about looming clashes between the feuding factions - Top Kings and Empire Builders.

"Therefore, in line with our mandate as stipulated in the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030), section 7, which among other things indicates that REGSEC should take immediate steps to ensure law and order, the Regional Security Council at an emergency meeting held today took the decisions that the entire area under dispute be declared a security zone, effective today.

"REGSEC would deploy security personnel to the area to ensure peace and calm," he added.

Already before this directive, some land guards had gone to the land earlier this week to destroy buildings under construction by assignees of Top Kings.

Some workers of Top Kings were beaten up by the land guards. A windshield of a truck was destroyed by the land guards.

Top Kings alleged it was men from Empire Builders protected by police personnel from East Legon who did that operation.

On Thursday morning (Feb 16) before REGSEC announced the declaration of the area as a security zone, policemen from the East Legon police station went to the land to stop assignees and workers of Top Kings from going ahead with building projects.

A management member of Top Kings who had gone to the site to check on the extent of damage and to speak to workers was picked up by the police, Graphic Online gathers.

Caution

The Regional Minister, Mr Henry Quartey also directed that all landguard activities in the area must cease immediately or those behind it should be ready to face the law.

He said the protracted feud between the two factions had dire security implications for the region and would no longer be countenanced.

REGSEC not challenging Court decision - Minister 

The regional minister noted that by the decision to take up the security of the disputed land, REGSEC was not in any way challenging the decisions of the courts on the land matter nor was it interpreting the courts decisions.

Again, he said the security council was not in the business of determining "the actual owners of the land."

"We are purely doing this to ensure that there is no breach of the peace in the entire area in dispute and region as a whole," he said.

Mr Quartey appealed to the media to be circumspect in their reportage on the issue so as not to inflame passions that might undermine the security of the area.

Background

From 1998 to 2020, Empire Builders Limited, a subsidiary of Trassaco Group, instituted action against Top Kings and the litigation travelled from the High Court through the Court of Appeal and ended at the Supreme Court in the favour of Top Kings.

When the action was instituted against Top Kings at the High Court in suit No. L49/99, Empire secured an order of Interim Injunction to restrain Top Kings from developing the land.

The case travelled all the way to the Supreme Court for a period of 22 years with all the courts dismissing Empire Builders Limited claims to the land.

After the Supreme Court judgment on December 16, 2020, Top Kings decided to return to the land to develop same.

Disagreement after Supreme Court decision 

But there is still a disagreement between the parties with counter press conferences and accusations followed by numerous police arrests of agents and workers from both sides following complaints of trespass by Empire.

According to Top Kings, Empire Builders engaged the Police, National Security personnel and the Ghana Armed Forces to prevent Top Kings development of the land alleging that the land Top Kings has entered did not form part of the land the parties litigated over for 22 years ending at the Supreme Court.

Empire Builders commenced a fresh action at the High Courts in Accra and Adenta in 2021 to stop Top Kings and its assigns from developing the land alleging that, that portion of the land was not covered by the Supreme Court judgment.

Both cases at the Accra and Adenta High Courts were dismissed basically on the grounds that they constitute an abuse of Court process in view of the Supreme Court judgement. A further appeal by Empire Builders to the Court of Appeal was also dismissed.

Empire Builders did not exercise its right to proceed to the Supreme Court in respect of its allegation that Top Kings has gone beyond the land subject matter of the Supreme Court judgment dated December 16, 2020.

Top Kings has claimed that what Empire Builders has resorted to is to have the police cause the arrest of workers of Top Kings and its assignees whenever they attempt to develop the land.

According to Top Kings, the police in “complete disrespect to the Judiciary inclusive of the Supreme Court” are preventing Top Kings and its grantees from developing the land by having police patrol vehicles always visiting the land in the company of officials of Empire Builders to cause arrest of workmen of Top Kings and its grantees.

Top Kings has explained that the police have been telling grantees of Top Kings who follow up to the C.I.D headquarters to secure the release of their arrested workmen, to ignore the various court judgments in favour of Top Kings because the land belongs to Empire Builders Ltd.

The Police have been inviting Top Kings and the Nungua stool to their office, according to Top Kings purportedly to investigate a complaint of trespass and double sale of land lodged by Empire Builders.

And on each occasion, Top Kings lawyers made it clear to them that the Empire Builders Ltd. claim has been dismissed repeatedly by all the courts and indeed copies of all the judgments have been made available to the police.

Regardless of the numerous judgments denying and dismissing Empire Builders Ltd. claims, brought to the attention of the police, Top Kings has said the police insist that the parties must compromise and resolve the dispute and insist that Top Kings and its grantees will not be allowed to develop the land until a compromise is reached with Empire Builders Ltd.

The Police CID invited Top Kings for another meeting with the C.E.O of Empire Builders Ltd at the CID headquarters on December 23, 2022 and Top Kings turned it down with the explanation that it does not intend to compromise after 24 years of litigation that has ended in its favour.

Top Kings went ahead and cited the CID boss for contempt, a case which is still pending.

Read also: CID boss Andoh-Kwofie dragged to court for alleged contempt

National Security Coordinators 

Similarly, the National Security Coordinator, Edward Asomani invited the parties to a similar meeting last week.

Empire Builders, at a recent press conference claimed that not all the portions of the land being claimed by Top Kings was affected by the Supreme Court ruling.

Empire Builders have called for a settlement but Top Kings has insisted that once it has a Supreme Court ruling in its favour, there is no room for settlement and that if anything, Empire should go and see the Nungua chiefs.

Late last year, the police made an arrest of some suspected landguards in the area and declared the Managing Director of Empire Builders, Ian Morris wanted.

Empire Builders’ stance 

Empire explained that the arrested people were not landguards but were security personnel for the company.

Three weeks ago, Empire Builders, petitioned the government to intervene in what it described as an attempt to take over parcels of land it had legally acquired.

At a press briefing Empire Builders said Top Kings with the help of “land guards, some members of the Nungua Stool and men wearing the Ghana Armed Forces uniform, trespassed onto their land.”

According to Empire Builders, the court affirmed its interest in the said land, albeit with 22 and 32 acres being allocated to Top Kings by the court.

Various interventions 

In spite of the court ruling, the dust is yet to settle on the ownership of the land.

The matter aside the courtroom has traveled the corridors of various agencies including the National security Minister’s outfit, Lands Ministry and in various political circles.

Even for the Greater Accra REGSEC, this is not the first time the matter is coming before it and the parties being asked to stay away from the land for the parties to present their documentations.

Some factions have used physical force for dominance and it has culminated in the destruction of foundations of buildings and fence walls being constructed by grantees of Too Kings in the last few months.

Subsequently, the Greater Accra Regional Security council has directed the feuding factions in the disputed land – Top Kings Enterprise Limited and Empire Builders - to stay off the property with immediate effect.

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, who gave the directive at a press conference today (February 16), said the decision was arrived at following intelligence the REGSEC had picked about looming clashes between the feuding factions - Top Kings and Empire Builders.

"Therefore, in line with our mandate as stipulated in the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2020 (Act 1030), section 7, which among other things indicates that REGSEC should take immediate steps to ensure law and order, the Regional Security Council at an emergency meeting held today took the decisions that the entire area under dispute be declared a security zone, effective today.

"REGSEC would deploy security personnel to the area to ensure peace and calm," he added.

Writer’s email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh