Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has said it will invoke all conventional rules to compel Ghana to answer for the demolition of a structure located within the premises of the residency of the Nigeria High Commission in Accra.
The Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Buba in a statement on Monday, June 22, 2020, said “We shall deploy all legislative means within our disposal, including exploring and invoking all necessary rules, regulations, and instruments that guide our common membership in other parliaments, to compel the Republic of Ghana to answer for this act of gross violation and abuse of the immunities of the Nigeria mission and its staff”.
He further insisted that ownership of the land in dispute belongs to Nigeria.
“Nigeria possessed all necessary legal titles and certifications, including site plan, payment receipts, and allocation papers from the Ghanaian authorities in respect of the land,” he added.
Yusuf Buba in the statement described the act as an invasion of Nigeria’s sovereignty and as external aggression on the Nigerian state.
The lawmaker also said that it was a gross violation of all known conventions and treaties on diplomatic relations and friendship between both countries.
Some armed men allegedly invaded the parcel of land on which the Commission was erecting a building on and pulled down parts of the said building.
The Osu Traditional Council which took responsibility for the action accused the Nigeria High Commission of trespassing on the land belonging to it.
Ghana apologises to Nigeria
Meanwhile, the Government of Ghana has apologised to the Nigeria High Commission to Ghana over the issue.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway who spoke after visiting the commission said, “we are sorry this has happened” and assured that the ongoing investigation would be transparent.
Police, National Security, and the Lands Commission are looking into the matter, she said.
“We will ensure that whatever the outcome is, we will not hide it from the people of Ghana or the people of Nigeria. It will be laid bare,” she said with the commission’s Charge D’ Affairs, Esther Arewa, at her side.
Madam Ayorkor Botchway stressed that the incident was “not a government-sanctioned activity” and that Ghana had respect for rule of law.
