Chief remanded in police custody for fraud, double sale of lands

An Accra Circuit Court 4 has remanded in prison custody, Nii Ayikai III, Akanmadjen chief (Mantse) of Accra.

Nii Ayikai III of Akanmajen Divisional Stool of the Ga Traditional Council who was facing charges of fraud and double sale of land, was on last Wednesday remanded in police custody, after he (Nii Ayikai ) was arrested by the property fraud unit of the Ghana police service after investigations conducted over a parcel of land at Abossey Okai belonging to the Quayenor family was found to have been stolen and sold.

Nii Ayikai who is currently standing trial over the sale of a plot of land at Abbosey Okai for the opening of a branch of Las Palmas Food Joint in the Greater Accra Region was remanded in police custody to reappear on Monday, June,2017.

According to reports, Nii Ayikai III belongs to a land stealing and selling syndicate led by Fred Adjei Brown and aided by David Nortey operating in the Greater Accra Region.

The sale of the land was tracked by the Quayenor family, owners of the said parcel of land after the Chief’s syndicate group led by Fred Adjei Brown allegedly sold the land to Las Palmas.

Adjei Brown initiating a well-engineered court action with his own friend and errand boy by name David Nortey.

The syndicate is allegedly being led by one Fred Adjei Brown, a former photographer who resides at Weija in the Ga South Municipality.

The syndicate in their recent operations over the forgery of names to prepare a document for the sale of land at Abossey Okai has been exposed by one of their accomplices during police investigations.

The land in question is the paternal property of the Queen mother of Kwabenya, Naa Korkoi Dugbatey II.

Nii Ayikai III and his group led by Fred Adjei Brown and David Nortey deliberately contested the authority of the chief of the Akanmajen Chief Nii Ayikai in court over the said property at Abossey Okai without the knowledge and consent of its legitimate owners being the Quayenor family of Abossey Okai.

In 2012, the syndicate, led by same Fred Adjei Brown initiated a court suit in the name of his own aid, David Nortey as defendant against Nii Ayikai, Chief of Akanmajen as the plaintiff.

The planned case was given a default judgement even though David Nortey the regular aid and errand man to Fred Adjei Brown was in court with the representative of Nii Ayikai but failed to announce his presence in court since he had no legitimate documents on the said land to contest the plaintiff.

But the aim was to identify a land located at Abossey Okai which according to records at the deeds registry was acquired in 1928 as a deed of gift to the Quayenor Family at the cost of £12.00.

The suit FAL/293/13, which was filed in the name of David Nortey an errand man and friend of Fred Adjei Brown as plaintiff and judgement debtor of House number 112 AGRIL Quarters, Pokuase Abusu Road, Road was initiated by Fred Adjei Brown and after the default judgement, sought to obtain a power of attorney from Nii Ayikai III, and filled an entry of judgement and recovery of possession and secured an order for demolishing.

However, the land in question is alleged to had earlier been sold by Fred Adjei Brown to Mr. and Mrs. Quarshie owners of Las Palmas food joints in Accra at the cost of GH¢450,000.00 which was paid into the accounts of lawyer Geoffrey Quist and later withdrawn by Adjei Brown, and other subsequent payments were made directly to Fred Adjei Brown by Mrs Quarshie herself.

Records available at the deeds registry in Accra revealed an indenture number 556/ 1928 of an ownership to the Quayenor family in the person of Joseph Tetteh Quayenor (deceased) since 1928.

But the syndicate on August 1, 2013, managed to forge their case, was issued with an order for 'Praecipe of writ of possession and Fifa number 41/2013, order 47 rule 3 signed by lawyer Geoffrey Quist.

The judgment and documents which were secured through the courts in Accra were all carried out with the professional legal advise and representation of lawyer Geoffrey Quist, who is ready to be summoned by petition to the General legal council in Accra.

The case after the first order for demolition was executed by the Accra Regional Police Command led by Superintendent William Kpormegbe, currently at post in the Northern region after his last office of the police Anti-Land guard unit at the headquarters.

This compelled the family member of Joseph Quayenor to institute a legal action against the chief of Akanmajen, Nii Ayikai III.

But barely two years in court with several adjournments, the defendants Nii Ayikai III failed to appear in court.

A member of the Quayenor family, in the capacity of the Queen mother for Kwabenya, Naa Korkoi Dugbatey II, after realizing the deal offered in an agreement and paid for the property on the same land again to the chief of Akanmajen, Nii Ayikai III at the cost of GH¢80,000.00 ,to enable Nii Ayikai refund the money ,he collected from Mr. and Mrs Quarshie, which was witnessed at the office of the Ga traditional council by Nii Ayibonte, the Gbese Mantse and Nii Doodu Nsaki, of Otublohun.

Meanwhile Fred Adjei Brown after securing a power of attorney on two different occasion from Nii Ayikai III, sold the Quayenor family property to at Abossey Okai to Mr. Johnson Quarshie and Mary Obeng Quarshie and plotted the property in their name in a lease dated October 3, 2012 from the grantor as Nii Ayikai III of Akanmajen Stool and acting head of the Asere Division of the Ga Traditional Council.

From the records at the Lands Commission, the land was sold in 2012, even when the property was in the name of the Quayenor family.

But lack runs out of the Akanmajen chief (Mantse) when in court on Wednesday 7th June 2017, to answer charges of fraud and double sale of land, found himself bundled into police custody on remand after the court remanded him in police custody with some conditions to be met to the court before he is released.

Nii Ayikai is expected to appear in the dock before the Circuit Court 4 on Monday 12th June 2017.

Meanwhile this single case which was filed in land court 1 by the Quayenor family to prove their ownership, has severally been filed again in three different court and also in Tema high court in the name of Nii Ayikai versus David Nortey seeking relief for further demolition on the same property, even though, the Quayenor family is challenging the legitimate ownership of Nii Ayikai in the unlawful entry and sale of their property to Las Palmas.

Hearing is adjourned to today, 12 June 2017 at 9am.