DANGER ALERT: This Is The Attorney General’s Legal Advice That Is Not Being Respected By The Ghana Police Service

Uniformed officers of the Ghana Police Service are still permanently camped at the private premises of Big Stone Mining Limited, a wholly-owned Chinese company operating at Bogoso in the Western Region despite a legal advice from the office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice that the continuous presence of the police there is illegal and should  discontinue.

In a letter dated August 31, 2022, and addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Attorney General was clear that the police personel should be withdrawn from the site because the ex parte order from the High Court which alleged the police to be there was for only a period of 10 days and had long expired.

The letter, headed as  “RE: PETITION FOR REDRESS IN THE MATTER OF WAN SHANGHONG, ANG LIU VRS BIG STONE MINING LTD & 6 ORS AND REPUBLIC VRS JIANGDONG SONG & 5 OTHERS”, noted:

“Reference is made to the above-mentioned subject.

“As you may recall, pursuant to a Petition to our Office on the 18′ August, 2022 from the lawyers of BIG STONE MINING LTD (the Company) & 5 ORS namely, Jiangdong Song, Yi Liu, Jiang Chenye, Kudjo Mawulolo Noukafou and Sima Songyang, we wrote a letter dated 23~ August, 2022 with our Reference No. AGD/DR 80/22 to you on the above subject.

“The Petitioners have once again petitioned our Office about the continuos presence of personnel of the Police Service at the site of the company.

“We write to bring to your attention that the order of the High Court, Commercial Division, Accra granted on 28′ July, 2022, was an ex parte order. Being an ex parte order, its lifespan is for ten (10) days in line with the High Court, Civil Procedure, Rules 2004 (CI 47).

“This order has therefore elapsed and it is respectfully advised that the Police personnel should be withdrawn forthright from the site.

“We count on your co-operation.”

Meanwhile, the Ghana Chinese Chamber of Commerce has raised official complaints against the occupation of the armed policemen as well as the conduct of the said troop at the private premises of Big Stone Mining Limited.

The Chamber, in an official statement, expressed surprise that not even a legal advice from the office of the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, the Government’s legal advisor, has been able to get the said policemen to vacate the private property.

Describing the encampment as shocking, the Chamber said their presence  and driving away of the mine’s workers by the policemen when they are fully aware there was a pending legal matter over the shareholding of the company, flies in the face of the laws of Ghana and sends discouraging signals to foreign investors.

The Chamber, in a petition to Government, said it has reason to believe that the plaintiff in a court case over the shareholding of the company, was  using political connection and influence from particular persons at the Jubilee House to do what is not acceptable by law against the company and  causing it huge financial losses.

The Chamber, in a letter to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, called for action to restore normalcy with a sense of urgency.

It served notice it may be compelled to put out the names of the exact top politicians at the Jubilee House who are doing the wrong things and giving the Nana Addo led-Government a bad reputation among foreign investors who come to do business in Ghana.

In a statement dated August 30, 2022, and signed by the President of the Chamber, Tang Hong, the Chamber  stated: “We hope that the Ministry of Justice  and Attorney General, the Chief Justice and the Ghana Police Service can take the fairness and impartiality of the law as a criterion, crackdown on illegal acts and also give justice to business operators, and give confidence to investors in Ghana,” the letter which was copied to the Chief Justice, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) stated.