A 56-year-old mechanic has been remanded by the Accra Circuit Court Nine over allegations of possessing forged land documents.
Atta Alhassan was denied bail as he was arraigned on a bench warrant. He denied possessing forged documents and is scheduled to appear before the Court on May 9, 2024.
Police Chief Inspector Daniel Danku informed the Court, presided over by Mr. Samuel Bright Acquah, that the complainant in the case is a private legal practitioner residing in Accra.
The accused, a vehicle mechanic and resident of Aworshie, a suburb of Accra, became embroiled in the case after the complainant applied for a 50-year lease on a piece of land in Avenor, Accra, from the Ghana Railways Company Limited in 2002.
According to Chief Inspector Danku, the application was approved, and an Engineers’ plan No. CE 2613/L dated 05/08/2022 delineated the area of 0.15 acres of land leased to the complainant by the company.
The prosecution explained that the complainant, unable to immediately develop the land, entrusted it to his brothers as caretakers, regularly monitoring it to prevent encroachment by mechanics who used the land for their shops and vehicles.
In December 2019, the complainant obtained a building permit from the Okaikoi South Sub-Metro District Council of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to commence construction on the land. However, in May 2023, Alhassan refused to vacate the premises, bringing in additional heavy-duty vehicles and buses to obstruct development.
Despite efforts to resolve the dispute, including involvement of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Alhassan persisted in his refusal to cooperate. During police investigation, Alhassan presented a lease agreement purportedly issued by the Ghana Railway Company Limited on May 21, 2001, with Engineers Plan No. CE 1998/1/L. However, a search at the Ghana Railways Development Authority revealed discrepancies, indicating the document supplied by the accused was not genuine.
Chief Inspector Danku stated that Alhassan failed to provide information on the source of the lease document and declined to cooperate further with police inquiries. Consequently, he was served with accused summons to appear before the court.
