Trio bailed over alleged Ablekuma land grab

Three men accused of forcibly taking over a property at Ablekuma Fanmilk in Accra have been granted bail by the Dansoman Circuit Court.

The court, presided over by Halimah El-Alawa Abdul-Bassit sitting as an additional judge, admitted Isaac Ofei, also known as Attah, Nana Ofori Atta and Samuel Blessing to bail of GH¢50,000 each, with three sureties apiece. All the sureties are to be justified.

As part of the bail conditions, the men are to deposit their Ghana Cards at the court registry and report to the case investigator every two weeks until the court decides otherwise. They all pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors say Ofei, 36, a mason; Ofori Atta, 34, an electrician; and 29-year-old security guard and door installer Blessing are jointly charged with conspiracy to commit trespass.

Individually, each man also faces a count of unlawfully exercising, or claiming to exercise, control over the development of land, contrary to Section 12(1)(a) of the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036).

The trial judge has directed the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Christopher Wonder, to file all disclosures and witness statements to pave the way for a Case Management Conference.

According to the brief facts presented in court, the complainant, teacher Robert Ameh Ocloo of Laterbiokorshie, inherited a two-plot property at Ablekuma Fanmilk from his late mother, who bought the land in 1990 and built several rooms on it for tenants. A caretaker was managing the premises in his absence.

On 8 September 2025, the caretaker is said to have alerted the complainant that a group of men had come to the property demanding to see land documents. After looking at the papers, the men allegedly insisted they were fake and warned that they would take half of the land unless there was a “negotiation”.

Mr Ocloo, who was then outside the country, reportedly asked for two weeks to return and produce the original documents. The prosecution claims that despite this, the men brought in machinery, demolished three occupied structures, evicted tenants and damaged property, asserting that they held a court judgment giving them rights over the land.

When the complainant returned to Ghana, he lodged a report with the police. Officers are said to have cautioned the men to stay away from the property while investigations continued.

However, on 10 November 2025 at about 2:30 a.m., police allegedly received information that the three were back on the land, guarding it and preventing the complainant from entering. A patrol team was dispatched and the men were arrested.

Following further investigations, the three were charged and put before the court. The case has been adjourned for continuation at a later date.