Aburi (E/R), April 10, GNA – The Akuapim South Police Command has advised complainants involved in land disputes to seek justice in court since the Police do not handle civil matters.
“The Police do not deal with these civil cases, so, complainants are directed to send their cases to court to be settled,” DSP Isaac Quaye, Akuapim South Police Commander told the Ghana News Agency in an interview.
The civil cases involved parties in dispute over the ownership of a property, custody of a child, family misunderstandings or divorce.
He also asked residents who registered their lands between the 1990s and the early 2020s to do it again using the new Global Positioning System (GPS) to ensure ownership authenticity.
“Those who registered under the previous system in the 1990s and early 20s should look through their registration with the GPS to prevent having multiple ownership of lands,” he said.
DSP Quaye stated that the paucity of property for sale in the national capital, Accra, has prompted most individuals to acquire land in the Greater Accra region’s neighboring areas, such as the Eastern and Central regions.
This, he observed, has resulted in the acquisition of land twice or even three times by different persons, resulting in a lot of misunderstanding about land ownership in the Akuapim South Municipality.
Accusations of threats of life reported to Police officers, according to DSP Quaye, are frequently accompanied by land dispute issues, motivating complainants to file their cases in court.
Ms Akosua Oye, a resident of Akuapim South Municipality who is in her late 70s, said her land, totaling more than 10 acres, was transferred to a family by “bogus” persons claiming to the landowners.
“I was reported to the police for threat of life,” she said. “However, those who reported me were found to have no case, and I was directed to the court to file my case.”
According to her, the majority of fictitious property owners pose as chiefs and landowners and sell lands to unsuspecting members of the public looking to acquire land.
She, therefore, advised buyers to register their lands via the new land registration system.
GNA