Akonta Mining Company Limited has dragged the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, and the Minerals Commission to court, challenging the recent revocation of its mining lease.
The company filed a suit on Tuesday, April 29, seeking GHS 20 million in damages and a retraction of what it describes as defamatory statements.
On April 21, 2025, the government announced at a press conference that the mining lease of the company had been revoked due to its alleged involvement in illegal mining—popularly known as galamsey—within protected forest reserves.
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The minister who addressed the press conference revealed findings from recent undercover investigations.
He told journalists that although the company was granted a licence to operate off-reserve, it encroached on the Aboi and Tano Nimiri Forest Reserves in the Western North Region without the necessary permits.
“Although Akonta Mining holds a license to operate off-reserve, the company had encroached on the Aboi and Tano Nimiri Forest Reserves in the Western North Region,” the Minister said.
But the company has denied the claims.
In its statement of claim, it states that “special/aggravated damages for libel published by the defendant herein and republished by local and international media in the sum of Ghc20,000,000 (twenty million Ghana cedis).”
It has also prayed the court to grant “an order compelling the defendant to retract the defamatory statements published against the plaintiff company and issue an unqualified public apology with equal prominence across media platforms, including television, radio, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X.”
Other reliefs sought include:
- An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Minister from making further defamatory statements.
- Full reimbursement of legal costs and lawyer’s fees.
- Any other relief the court may deem appropriate.
