The Supreme Court has dismissed a case by Exton Cubic owned by Ibrahim Mahama, brother of former President John Dramani Mahama.
In a unanimous decision on Tuesday, January 22, 2019, a five-member panel presided over by Mrs Justice Sophia Adinyera, and comprising Justices Anin Yeboah, Sule Gbagbegbe, Samuel Marful-Sau and Prof Nii Ashie Kotey, held that Exton’s application had no merit because the Supreme Court had already given an interpretation of Article 268 clause 1.
The apex court, in its decision, ruled that the appropriate action that the applicant should have taken was to have appealed against the High Court ruling instead of coming to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court subsequently dismissed the application.
Exton Cubic's application sought to challenge the jurisdiction of the High Court following a decision by the court to refuse them compensation for the seizure of its mining equipment.
Background
In 2018, the company filed for compensation at a Kumasi High Court after the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah ordered the confiscation of its equipment following an attempt to mine bauxite in the forest of Nyinahini in the Atwima Mponua District of the Ashanti Region.
The company had asked the court to, among other things, order the government to pay for the number of days the defendants kept all the equipment in their custody.
However, in a ruling on June 2018, the Kumasi High Court, presided over by Mr Justice George Addai Kwofa, dismissed the case on the basis that the company’s mining lease was not valid.
According to the High Court, the minister did nothing wrong by seizing the equipment and added that as the political head of the region, Hon Simon Osei acted in good faith, as the presence of the equipment in the forest was causing unrest among the population.
It said, since the lease that allowed the company access into the forest was subject to review and withdrawal, the minister acted within the law.
It also held that by the act of the minister, the equipment of the company was protected, as the youth of the town could have vandalized it.
Unhappy with the High Court's decision, the company proceeded to the Supreme Court.
But on Tuesday, the five-member Supreme Court ruled that the case was without merit.
Minister's Action
In September 2017, Mr. Osei-Mensah ordered the police to seize eight trucks, one caterpillar generating set and two container offices belonging to Engineers and Planners that had been contracted by the Exton Cubic Group for bauxite prospecting in the Tano-Offin Forest Reserve.
During the seizure, the company insisted that it had the legal authorization from the government to work in the forest reserve.
However, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. John Peter Amewu, explained later that the company failed to meet the legal requirements and, therefore, its lease was not valid.
He argued that the failure to obtain environmental and operational permits, as well as the various statutory infractions leading to the purported grant of the three mining leases to the company, rendered the purported leases invalid and of no effect.
Exton Cubic was granted a long lease concession by the Mahama government on December 29, 2016, a few days before it handed over power to the NPP government.
Not satisfied with the development, the company filed an application for certiorari to quash Mr. Amewu’s decision to revoke the mining leases to the company on September 4, 2017.
Source: Peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
if u cover sin almighty will uncover your sin.congrats,my abronye,the london boy bro owusu bempa and my own mentor,comander in chief of armagedon war against injustice of poor ghanaians in ghana-kennedy akompreko agyapong.bcos of the,,,,,,,,ken should cancel his trip,,,,for what.please leave ken alone.where is hafis,for him he is not a human being------oh injustice ghanaians.danke
The US Ambassador got it right. Beware of romance scams. Corrupt officials at Vodafone, MTN, and Airtel have been intercepting passwords and internet traffic which they then sell to these romance scammers. If a scammer can't log into your facebook, Whatzapp or email accounts they can't scam your contacts. The national communications authority must put in place measures to curb such practices. Internet in Ghana is characterized by low quality of service, high latency, high packet loss and so on. The NCA must make amends. The police must cooperate fully with INTERPOL. In one case INTERPOL asked the Ghana Police to arrest a certain Kwesi Baffour Gyimah and Dr. Emmanuel Apanga. The police did not pursue the case to its logical conclusion.
It Would have been naked stealing, or broad daylight robbery, if you like.
do u think this country is for u n ur brother
SUPREME COURT! GOOOOOOOOOOD. WE WILL ALL KNOW OUR SMOOTHNESS LEVEL' YE BE TE BORBORLIBORBOR
***barred word***, the only thing you and your family knows is to steal state money.
You see your size? Wait till 2090 when your brother's party comes to power!! As for them, within 90 days in office, they will pay you with interest from 2017.
See how John Mahama and his Gre ed-y Ba3ards Family planed to 100t from this Nation.