Bernice Bessey
12 August 2008
The Chief of Ogbojo, in the Ga East Municipality, Joseph Nii Torgbor Obodai II has urged the general public to refrain from buying lands at Ogbojo, from the La Mantse, Nii Kpobi Tetteh Tusru, and his five-member-committee.
According to the Chief, the Court of Appeal on January 17, this year, in a land dispute between the La Stool on one hand, and the people of Anarhor and Dzirase of Ogbojo, on the other, decided in favour of the former.
Nii Torgbor Obodai II stated that the High Court initially ruled in their favour, before the La Chief, Nii Kpobi Tetteh Tusru made an application to the Court of Appeal, which rejected the outcome of the case at the High Court.
As the allodia owner, with title over Ogbojo lands, the Ogbojo Chief has sought an injunction on the ruling of the Appeal Court, but noted that the Chief of La was selling the lands, under his jurisdiction, to private Estate developers.
'The court restricted the defendants, the Anahor and Dzirase people with a perpetual injunction, to give prior consent to the La Stool, in the sale of land at Ogbojo," Nii Obodai II stressed.
He, therefore, emphasized that though the Ogbojo Traditional Area fell under the La Stool, the law neither mandated the La Chief to impose rulers over the people of the area, nor sell their lands.
Nii Torgbor Obodai II expressed these sentiments, at a press briefing at Ogbojo, in reaction to the press conference held by the La Mantse, in which he was accused of selling the Ogbojo lands.
He indicated that the two families of Ogbojo, the Anarhor and Dzirase, have occupied the area for almost 300 years, adding that the La Stool cannot decide for them.
In this respect, the Ogbojo Chief noted that the occupant of the La Stool, Nii Kpobi Tetteh Tusru, had mis-conducted himself and flouted the judgment, by appointing a committee to head the area under his jurisdiction.
According to him, the five-member-committee was not known to the elders of the various clans of the stool at La, noting that the actions of the La Mantse amounted to contempt of court.
The chief expressed misgivings over the manner in which the La Chief, and his five committee members, had deployed landguards to the place, and were indiscriminately selling the lands, as well as their farmlands, which includes "the chief's farm which is under fast development now.
"Nii Kpobi Tetteh Trsu and his five-member-committee are carrying out these wicked acts, with the assistance of numerous land guards," the Chief of Ogbojo claimed.
Nii Torgbor further noted that the presence of landguards, was threatening to the lives of the people in the area, as they go about their daily activities.
The chief also stated that he had the resources to mobilize forces to face the landguards and the five-member-committee, stressing that "as a law-abiding citizen and a Christian, I would use the right procedures to seek justice."
He rather accused the La Mantse and his committee members, of demolishing some houses on the land, as he rejected a similar accusation levelled against him during a press conference, organized by the La Mantse.
He then explained that if there were any development projects on the land, those affected were compensated.
"So therefore anyone, who transacts business with the La Stool directly, or his five member committee, does so at his own risk," he warned.
The Ogbojo Chief indicated that he was properly and customary installed, and has ruled for 17 years, stressing that as the composite head of the two families, they had never engaged in conflict with each other.
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