Introduction
News coming in from the eastern region suggests that a senior lawyer and partner of Addo Atuah & co, a law firm based in Accra has allegedly stolen majority shares of Coppon Wood Processing limited, a wood processing company located at Akim Swedru. This was disclosed in a press conference organized by the president of Citizen Eye Ghana, Mr. Alex Tetteh. LawyerAddo Atuah who served as the company secretary for the company has allegedly taken over the company through dubious means.
Background
Four brothers Charles Oppong, Alexander Achibald Oppong, Maxwell Oppong and Adarkwah Oppong, a trustee for Nana Yaw Oppong, then a minor, and Elizabeth Oppong, registered a company with the name COPPON WOOD PROCESSING LTD in the year 1987. The company had a total of 600,000,000.00 shares. They held these shares and also doubled as directors of the company.
In 1993, Mr. Addo Atuah who was company secretary of the company. He subsequently became a board member as director of Coppon Wood Processing Ltd without any shares. This was years before he represented Alhaji Dawood in the Nayele cocaine saga, defended the miss Ghana contestant that was charged for stealing, and defended two British citizens suspected of smuggling drugs in Ghana.
The company became insolvent the same year and an investor by name Timber and Consulting Itd. invested in the company. Timber and consulting limited later left, relinquishing its 51% shares back to Coopon Wood Processing Itd.
The four brothers and their aunt died under mysterious circumstances with Mr. Charles Oppong being the last to die in the 2012. After the death of all the brothers, Mr. Addo Atuah took over the company and issued several threats to the surviving children of the company owners.
Current situation
Mr. Attuah has reportedly threatened to kill any of the children who dared challenge him after he transferred $2,300,000.00 from Coppon Wood Processing Company’s accounts into his personal accounts with the then Barclays Bank Limited.
Mr. Addo Atuah is reported to have forged documents with the connivance of a member of the Oppong family. The individual named Mr. Emmanuel Effah Asamoah has been impersonating the family head.
Reportedly, the children recently, discovered that Mr. Addo Atuah and his accomplices have forged documents purporting to be letters of administration. These forged documents have been signed by the supposed family head. This aided in their ploy to illegally transfer all the shares of the company to himself and some other unknown accomplices, making him the sole director.
STEPS TAKEN BY THE FAMILY
The matter was lodged at Oda divisional police office by the aggrieved family. The suspect lodged a complaint at the headquarters at Kibi against the employees of the company. The complaint by the suspect led to indiscriminate arrest of employees of the company amidst their protest of the hostile takeover.
A petition has been sent by the family to the CID headquarters in Accra, the Ghana bar association and also registrar of companies. The family has began process to institute legal action against the accused.
This will not be the first time a controversial issue has come up against Lawyer Addo Atuah. In 2014, the Chief Justice, Justice Georgina Theodora Wood together with the General Legal Council probed the lawyer for impersonation. The lawyer filed a motion to discontinue an action in 2008 without the consent of the plaintiff. Eventhough he was not the lawyer of the plaintiffs, he impersonated their lawyer and fled the courts after the act.
According to the petition sent by their families and their lawyer, Mr. Addo Atuah, together with the counsel for the 2nd Defendant, Lawyer LSN Akuetteh, David Tawiah, and Edward Akuetteh, who were allegedly already selling parts of the lands indiscriminately then entered into negotiations for the Plaintiffs to accept a 40.00 Acre land as against 808.4 Acres contained in the High Court Ruling.
The matter has become the talk of town as many have questioned the abuse of privileged by many lawyers. Many people attribute this to their knowledge of the law and the lack of accountability for their actions. As the story unfolds, more details will be provided.
