MADAM LINDA SAGOE AND OTHERS vs. SOCIAL SECURITY AND NATIONAL INSURANCE TRUST [SSNIT]

The plaintiffs negotiated and purchased various plots of land from the James Town Stool in Dunkonaa, Greater Accra, between 1990 and 2004. The defendant, SSNIT, was allocated 507.75 acres of land compulsorily acquired by the government under EI 5 of 1993, primarily for GREDA members but later leased to SSNIT for 99 years starting November 1996. Upon entry, SSNIT discovered encroachments and demolished buildings on the land. The plaintiffs claimed ownership of the demolished properties and sued for damages, declaration of trespass, cancellation of SSNIT's land title certificate, and perpetual injunction. The High Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the Court of Appeal reversed this decision, finding the plaintiffs failed to discharge the burden of proof regarding their title and boundaries of their plots.

GBADEGBE, JSC; My Lords, by the appeal herein, the plaintiffs seek a reversal of the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal that allowed in favour of the defendants an appeal from the decision of an Accra High Court. It appears from the decision with which we are concerned in these proceedings that the learned justices of the Court of Appeal came to the conclusion on the evidence that the plaintiffs had failed to discharge the burden of proof that they assumed in the matter. Consequently, they dismissed the claim of the plaintiffs and entered judgment in favour of the defendant but limited only to part of their counterclaim. The facts relevant to our determination in these proceedings are as follows. The plaintiffs desirous of putting up residential dwellings severally negotiated the purchase from the James Town Stool, Accra of various plots of land within an area called Dunkonaa in the Greater Accra Region. The negotiations and purchase of the said plots according to the pleadin...