The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana (EPCG) has cautioned encroachers on its parcel of land at Cantonment, Accra, to stop any ongoing project on the site in order not to incur the wrath of the church.
The church said in spite of a case pending in court over the ownership of the land, the defendants in the case, Orchard N Properties Plus limited, through its agent, Nana Yaw, was busily developing the said land.

Addressing journalists in Accra, the President of Defenders of the Faith, a group within EPCG, Togbui Gobah Tengey Seddoh, said as a law abiding church, “we have resorted to use the necessary legal action to address the matter and not use force to stop the gross disrespect currently on–going at the site”.

When journalists visited the site yesterday morning, workers were seen busily constructing a foundation for an impending illegal project.

Togbui Gobah told the media that there was an injunction from the High Court restraining all parties, their agents, workmen, assigns, privies, representatives and any person from having any dealings on the land until the final determination of the suit in court.

Disrespect of court order

However, the developer, he said, had disregarded the said injunction and was developing the land although they had been served with the court process.

Explaining how the church got the land, Togbui Gobah said the property was given to the church by the American Missionaries in the 1950s when they were leaving the country and since then it had become one of the land properties of the church.

Property is for the church

“Today, we have come to realise that some people have encroached on this property and we are here to let the whole world know that this property belongs to the E. P. Church Ghana. It is not for anybody. It is for us”, he said.
 
He questioned how the developer could blatantly disrespect the court and send workers to develop the land.

“Even with an injunction, you still want to use force to take a property that does not belong to you? You cannot do this anywhere in the world, and it must not be allowed in this country too”, he said.

The developers, he said, were aware that the property belonged to the church but were adamant. The church, he said, would not fight them but “the law will fight them if they don’t stop”.

However, he said, the church would not also look on for the wrong thing to continue to go on.

He asked members of the church to remain calm while the church dealt with the issue appropriately.