News
Court awards GHC750,000 damages against ABSA Bank for defamation
A High court in Accra (General Jurisdiction 7) has awarded a cost of GH750,000 against ABSA Bank Ghana Limited for defaming Mr Adri Hopson, a real estate developer.
In 2019, Mr Hopson, the plaintiff sold two separate two-bedroom houses to two employees of the Bank, Isaac Quao and Linda Mokeh.
The plaintiff had stated in his writ of summons filed by his lawyer, Nii Kpakpo Samoa Addo that he was subsequently invited by the Greater Accra Regional Police Command to respond to a complaint of fraud lodged against him by the Bank, the defendant, regarding his sale of encumbered properties to its two employees.
Meanwhile, the plaintiff had argued that the properties were not encumbered in any way, therefore, the act of the defendant in lodging a complaint against him was defamatory.
Mr Hopson contends that he was not involved in any contract or transaction with the defendant Bank.
In his judgement on May 22, the presiding judge, Justice Ali Baba Abature held that the complaint of defrauding by false pretences lodged against the plaintiff by the defendant Bank was defamatory as it was made out of malice without probable and reasonable cause, thereby harming the reputation of the plaintiff as a successful and respected. businessman.
Justice Abature stated that the two workers of the Bank were in occupation of the properties the plaintiff genuinely sold to them, with one of them admitting that she has registered her title to the property she purchased.
Consequently, the judge awarded GH300,000 in general damages to be paid to the plaintiff by the defendant, punitive damages of GH300,000, compensatory damages of GH150,000. and costs, including services cost of GH100,000 against defendant in favour of the plaintiff.
The defendant had told the court that the plaintiff mortgaged the properties he sold to its employees, but Nii Addo, counsel for the plaintiff averred that the
properties the defendant claimed were mortgaged by his client were not the properties sold to the two employees of the defendant.
It was the case of the plaintiff that he dealt with the defendant’s two employees in good faith and did not suppress any material fact from the employees and that malice occurred on the part of the defendant when the complaint of fraud was made to the police with intent to harm his image or reputation.
The defendant, on the other hand, denied all the averments of the plaintiff.
In its statement of defence, ABSA averred that the results of an initial search conducted by its Central Securities Unit (CSU) on the properties sold to its two employees by the plaintiff indicated that there were no encumbrances on the property before it accepted the mentioned employees’ application for a mortgage under its Bank Staff Mortgage Loan Policy.
However, the defendant stated that subsequent investigations at the time the said employees’ mortgage documents were submitted to the Land Title Division for registration of its interest in the properties by virtue of the mortgage loan it granted to the two employees for the purchase of the properties have revealed that the properties the plaintiff sold to its two employees were encumbered as a mortgage had already been registered on the said properties.
Consequently, the defendant’s mortgage interest charge in the two properties could not be registered thereby rendering the mortgage facility it granted to its two mentioned employees unsecure.
As a result, ABSA said its Fraud Risk Management and Investigations Unit was commissioned to conduct forensic investigations into the conduct of the plaintiff, and the investigation report revealed that that the Plaintiff had mortgaged certain properties including the two that Plaintiff sold to its employees to First Trust Savings and Loans for a loan facility.
Defendant therefore lodged a complaint with the Regional Crime Officer of the Greater Accra Regional Police Command to investigate the matter.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
The Northern Regional Police Command has arrested three men believed to be part of a kidnapping syndicate responsible for abducting a 42-year-old man in Wapuli, a community in the Yendi District.
The suspects, Haruna Seidu, Amidu Bandi and Osman Bandi allegedly kidnapped the victim and demanded GH¢100,000 from his family for his release.
According to a police statement, officers from the Regional Police Intelligence Directorate were deployed to Wapuli after the incident was reported.
The team conducted surveillance and launched a rescue operation.
On Friday, December 5, 2025, police successfully rescued the victim and arrested the suspects after what was described as an intense exchange of gunfire.
The suspects were later taken into custody and are expected to be arraigned before court.
The Police said the a fourth suspect, who is believed to have sustained gunshot wounds during the operation, is currently on the run.
They urged the public to provide any information that may lead to his arrest.
By: Jacob Aggrey
News
Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong advocates Bold educational reforms at the UK House of Lords during Global Education Summit.
On November 27 2025, global development leaders, policymakers, education experts and civil society organisations gathered at the UK Parliament’s House of Lords for the Global Education Summit hosted by The Baroness Verma of Leicester and organised by the African British Business Forum.
The high-level event focused on the global rise in out-of-school children and the urgent reforms required to deliver equitable, quality education for all.
Among the distinguished Speakers was Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, Founder & President of Women in Sustainability Africa (WiSA) and General Manager of the EIB Network, who delivered a compelling address on the theme “Breaking Barriers: Empowering Out-of-School Children Through Education.”
In her remarks, Nana Yaa who is currently celebrating 26years of Service in the Media, emphasized that education must be viewed as essential national infrastructure, not charity.
Borrowing experiences from her 18 years of empowering women and young people, she presented a strong case on how Africa’s poor educational systems tie into the poor state of its Gender Equality gap.
According to her, unlocking access to education is one of the most effective ways to strengthen economies, empower women and young girls, build resilient communities and drive sustainable development.
She highlighted that each child excluded from learning represents deferred innovation, delayed opportunity and a weakened society.
Nana Yaa noted that the barriers keeping millions of children out of school are complex and interconnected—ranging from poverty and cultural norms to geographical isolation and digital exclusion.
Addressing these challenges, she argued, requires solutions that are equally comprehensive and multi-layered.
Nana Yaa stressed that girls remain disproportionately affected, and investing in girls’ education has a transformative impact across several Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, poverty reduction, health outcomes and climate resilience.
Nana Yaa advocated for the expansion of flexible, inclusive and community-responsive educational models, such as mobile classrooms for remote and nomadic communities, community learning hubs, after-hours programmes for working children, radio-based instruction for low-tech areas and digital platforms designed to reach learners regardless of connectivity challenges.
She warned that without deliberate action, the digital divide would continue to widen, pushing already vulnerable children further to the margins.
During her presentation, she introduced three major reforms WiSA is seeking Partners for, aimed at reshaping educational access across Africa and beyond.
These are the Digital Bridge for Out-of-School Children (DBOC), the Community Education Stewardship Hubs (CESH) involving local women educators and youth volunteers and the Teen-focused Global Skills Accelerator for Out-of-School Teens (GSA-OT).
She also underscored the need for education systems that support instruction, inclusivity and healing, particularly for children experiencing autism, trauma, displacement or conflict.
Nana Yaa emphasised that emotional and psychological support must be integrated into educational frameworks in order to restore confidence, stability and long-term learning capacity.
The summit concluded with strong commitments from stakeholders to adopt sustainable financing models, strengthen data-driven policies and expand cross-sector partnerships.
The African British Business Forum reaffirmed its commitment to championing innovative, scalable solutions to educational inclusion across the UK, Africa and the wider global community.
