Tension is mounting at Appolonia, near Oyibi, following a rapidly escalating land dispute that has set developers against land guards alleged to be acting on the instructions of a section of the Appolonia family.
The developers, who insist they have legitimately acquired their lands through Heavens Gate Estates Ltd, say they are now prepared to confront the land guards head-on to reclaim their plots. With both sides holding their grounds, the area is on the edge, raising fears of violent clashes, if the Police does not intervene swiftly.
About 50 developers, including members of the Judicial Service Ladies Association, purchased plots from Heavens Gate Estates Ltd, which holds a land title for 570.06 acres of land leased in 2009 by an indenture executed by the late chief of Kpone-Appolonia, Nii Tei Adumah II. The estate company subsequently planned the area as a gated community and sold parcels of the land to individuals, organisations, and groups.
However, in 2023, a faction of the Appolonia family led by Eric Tetteh Oko challenged the transaction, claiming that the late chief sold the land without the consent of the three ruling clans of Appolonia — Bediako We, Kojo We, and Sanshie-Sackey We. The faction reportedly demolished uncompleted structures and demanded that developers repurchase their plots.
The matter went into litigation but was later settled out of court. A consent judgment by the Land Division of the Accra High Court affirmed the rights of Heaven Gate Estates and its developers, with Oko Tetteh and the other defendants agreeing not to interfere with the land.
Despite this judgment, developers accuse Oko Tetteh of defying the consent judgement of the court, allegedly using armed land guards to forcibly seize parcels of land to resell them. The situation has triggered violent clashes in the area, as the developers have vowed to resist the handguards to reclaim their legally acquired lands.
According to the Chairman the Association of Land Owners at Appolonia, Mr Edmund Kofi Duffour Addae, the developers recently petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno, upon which the matter was referred to the Anti-Land Guards Unit and the Crime Office of the Greater Accra Regional Police Command.
He said meetings between the parties, including Oko Tetteh have not yielded fruitful results, as Oko Tetteh, after the meetings, return to the site with his landguards to harass the developers. In a recent intervention, the police cautioned Oko Tetteh and warned him to keep off the land in accordance with the terms of the consent judgement.
Meanwhile, Heavens Gate Estates has filed a writ of contempt against Oko Tetteh at the Lands Court, which is awaiting hearing.
“The situation is worsening by the day as the developers have vowed to face the landguards head-on to reclaim their lands,” Mr Addae said, and called on the IGP to intervene to prevent violent confrontation in the area.
