Shareholders and directors of a microfinance company based in the Western Region, Boin Microfinance Limited, have accused the Bank of Ghana (BoG) of human rights abuse and shear disregard for law and order.
According to them, the company dragged the BoG to an Accra Human Rights Court for allegedly superimposing records of another microfinance company on it and using such records as basis to declare Boin Microfinance Ltd as insolvent on May 30, 2019.During the process, the court served BoG and its agencies order of certiorari and Inter-locutary injunction order barring the BoG from touching the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd.
Until the matter is determined by the court. The order, according to the group has been breached by the BoG and its agencies, “even as the case continues in court with a certiorari order restraining the BoG and its agents from tampering with the company’s assets, the Receiver, Mr Eric Nipah with support from BoG, has started taking over the assets of the company in clear breach of the court orders”.A notification dated July 14, 2020, and forwarded to Graphic Online today (August 10, 2020), “As the case pends in court, with the above orders in place, your agent, Eric Nipah, is taking the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd.
He has already taken charge of the accounts containing about GH¢8.4 million and real and active loans of about GH¢5.5 million”.It continued that, “Eric Nipah has also taken pick-ups, motorbikes, furniture, computers and other assets from its branches namely Dadieso, Essiama, Aiyinase and Tikobo 1, through the use of the police. On the 10th June, 2020, we saw a vehicle with the inscription “BROLL GHANA LTD, PROPERTY SERVICES” at the branches of Boin Microfinance Ltd.
The presence of Broll Ghana Ltd. at our offices indicates that you have actually planned to collapse our hard-established company without any reason whatsoever”The noticed signed by the both Shareholder and Board Member of Boin Microfinance Limited, Joseph Apor Adjei and Dr. Seth Dankyi Boateng respectively, therefore cautioned both BoG and the Receiver to respect the orders of the court by staying away from the company’s assets until the determination of the case in court.”We write as Shareholders and Directors of Boin Microfinance Ltd. to draw your attention to the fact that the Order of Certiorari and Inter-locutory injunction order that the Human Rights Court, Accra served you on our behalf stop you and all your agents from touching the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. until the matter is determined by the court”, the notification said. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Graphic Online, Dr Boateng said over 250 staff of the company have lost their job.
He was therefore of the view that until the matter is determined by the Court, any deliberate attempt by BoG agents to dissipate further the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. will be resisted.Dr Boateng added the lawyer for BoG had not been in court for the past months thereby delaying the process. “We have reached this conclusion because we have observed with surprise that your outfit has no interest in resolving the matter, but is bent on seizing our assets without recourse to the very law that you claim to be working with”, he said.
They also accused the BoG of not notifying the company before the insolvency decision was taken. “As law abiding citizens of Ghana, even though the company, since its establishment, had never had any discussion on insolvency with the regulator (Bank of Ghana) and did not receive any notice on revocation of its license and take-over, the Board directed Management to hand-over peacefully to the staff of Bank of Ghana and its agent when they secretly appeared at its various branches on the 31st May, 2019 to seize the company”.
Read the full notification below: WITHOUT PREJUDICE 14TH JULY, 2020
THE GOVERNOR
BANK OF GHANA
ACCRANOTICE OF INFRINGEMENT ON THE RIGHTS OF THE SHAREHOLDERS AND DIRECTORS OF BOIN MICROFINANCE LTD.
We write as Shareholders and Directors of Boin Microfinance Ltd. to draw your attention to the fact that the ORDER of CERTIORARI and INTER-LOCUTORY INJUNCTION ORDER that the Human Rights Court, Accra served you on our behalf stop you and all your agents from touching the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. until the matter is determined by the court. Be informed that from the date of this notice until the matter is determined by the Court, any deliberate attempt by your agents to dissipate further the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. will be resisted.
We have reached this conclusion because we have observed with surprise that your outfit has no interest in resolving the matter, but is bent on seizing our assets without recourse to the very law that you claim to be working with. As law abiding citizens of Ghana, even though the company, since its establishment, had never had any discussion on insolvency with the regulator (Bank of Ghana) and did not receive any notice on revocation of its license and take-over, the Board directed Management to hand-over peacefully to the staff of Bank of Ghana and its agent when they secretly appeared at its various branches on the 31st May, 2019 to seize the company.
The shareholders and directors brought petitions to your office that Boin Microfinance Ltd. is not insolvent and that a report on an onsite inspection conducted by your outfit from 18th to 20th December, 2018, which was received on the 4th June, 2019, at which time you had already revoked the company’s license, revealed that you, either mistakenly or deliberately, super-imposed another company’s report on Boin Microfinance Ltd. based on which you revoked its license, and this was accordingly brought to your notice in our supplementary petition in order for you to correct the anomaly and reverse your decision.
When the petitions did not yield any results, the shareholders and directors were inclined to think that you might have deliberately revoked the company’s license and so we went to the High Court, Sekondi, to invoke the powers of the court to seek redress. Indeed, you brought a motion to the court, citing “the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), and that we have invoked the powers of the Court wrongly”. The court under Her Ladyship Sedina Agbamavah J, respectfully referred the matter for settlement at Arbitration.Again, as law abiding people, the shareholders and directors went to the Ghana Arbitration Center, Accra, with our claim, and same was served on you. You only entered appearance through your lawyers Frank Davies and Davies and never submitted any response upon several reminders.
Realizing that you were not ready to submit to Arbitration but only shielding your acts with the law by trampling on our human rights, we terminated the case at the Ghana Arbitration Center and went to the Human Rights Court, Accra, to seek for Judicial Review of your decision to revoke Boin Microfinance Ltd’s license without any reason. The Court has, accordingly, served you with an ORDER of CERTIORARI and, subsequently, INTER-LOCUTORY INJUNCTION ORDER.These two ORDERS, in effect, stop you from touching the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. until the matter is determined by the court, but from our diligent observations, you seem to use the powers given to you by Ghanaians through the law to function, but you do not respect the same law enacted by Parliament, and for that matter Ghanaians, that protects your very existence when it comes to ORDERS from the Judiciary.
As the case pends in court, with the above orders in place, your agent, Eric Nipah, is taking the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. He has already taken charge of the accounts containing about GH¢8.4 million (Ghana Cedis) and real and active loans of about GH¢5.5 million (Ghana Cedis). Eric Nipah has also taken pick-ups, motor bikes, furniture, computers and other assets from the following branches of the company, namely, Dadieso, Essiama, Aiyinase and Tikobo 1, through the use of the police. On the 10th June, 2020, we saw a vehicle with the inscription “BROLL GHANA LTD, PROPERTY SERVICES” at the branches of Boin Microfinance Ltd. The presence of Broll Ghana Ltd. at our offices indicates that you have actually planned to collapse our hard-established company without any reason whatsoever.As Ghanaians, and for that matter, shareholders and directors of Boin Microfinance Ltd., we are law abiding citizens and know that the police exist for every institution in Ghana and every individual (Ghanaian) and non-Ghanaians living in Ghana.
We therefore want to use this medium to inform you that you cannot continue to use the police to intimidate us and infringe on our human rights. From the date of this notice until the matter is determined by the Court, any deliberate attempt by your agents to dissipate further the assets of Boin Microfinance Ltd. will be resisted.We are per this same notice informing the Ghana Police Service, Corruption Watch, Center for Democratic Development, the Metropolitan/Municipal/District Assemblies, Member of Parliaments, Speaker of Parliament, His Excellency, The President of the Republic of Ghana, The Chief Justice, The Human Rights Courts, Paramount Chiefs and the Media about your attitude and our intended resistance should your agents deliberately continue to dissipate the company’s assets.
Also, copies of the CERTIORARI and INTER-LOCUTORY INJUNCTION ORDERS which the Human Right Court served on you and your lawyers are attached for the verification and perusal of each of these authorities.This comes with greetings from the Directors and Shareholders of Boin Microfinance Ltd., who are also Ghanaians and equally entitled to the Right for Justice.
Thank you.
JOSEPH APOR ADJEI
(ON MY OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF OTHER SHAREHOLDERS)DR. SETH DANKYI BOATENT
(ON MY OWN BEHALF AND ON BEHALF OF OTHER BOARD MEMBERS)
DISTRIBUTION
1. H. E. NANA ADDO DANQUAH AKUFFO ADDO
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
JUBILEE HOUSE
ACCRA2. H. E. DR. MAHAMUDU BAWUMIA
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REBULIC OF GHANA
JUBILEE HOUSE
ACCRA3. THE CHIEF JUSTICE
JUDICIAL SERVICE
ACCRA4. THE SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT
PARLIAMENT HOUSE
ACCRA5. THE MP
ELLEMBELLE CONSTITUENCY
NKROFUL6. THE MP
SUAMAN CONSTITUENCY
DADIESO7. THE MP
AOWIN CONSTITUENCY
ENCHI8. THE MP
JUABOSO CONSTITUENCY
JUABOSO9. THE MP
AMENFI EAST CONSTITUENCY
WASSA AKROPONG10. THE MP
GWIRA EVALUE AJOMORO CONSTITUENCY
AXIM11. THE MP
JOMORO CONSTITUENCY
HALF ASSINI12. THE MP
BOGOSO PRESTEA HUNI-VALLEY CONSTITUENCY
BOGOSO13. THE MP
AMENFI WEST CONSTUENCY
ASANKRANGWA14. THE MP
AMENFI CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY
MANSO AMENFI
15. THE IGP
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
ACCRA16. MR. YAW SAPONG
THE HEAD
OFISD
CEDI HOUSE,
BANK OG GHANA
ACCRA17. THE DIRECTOR
CORRUPTION WATCH
ACCRA18. THE DIRECTOR
CENTER FOR DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT
ACCRA19. ERIC NIPAH
PwC
ACCRA20. THE REGISTRAR
HUMAN RIGHTS COURTS
COURT COMPLEX
ACCRA21. THE DCE
ELLEMBELLE DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
NKROFUL22. THE DCE
AMENFI CENTRAL DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
MANSO AMENFI23. THE DCE
SUAMAN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
DADIESO
24. THE DCE
JUABOSO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
JUABOSO
25. THE DCE
AOWIN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
ENCHI26. THE DCE
BOGOSO PRESTEA HUNU-VALLEY DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
BOGOSO27. THE MCE
NZEMA EAST MUNICIPLAL ASSEMBLY
AXIM28. THE MCE
JOMORO MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
HALF ASSINI29. THE MCE
AMENFI EAST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
WASSA AKROPONG30. THE MCE
AMENFI WEST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
ASANKRANGWA31. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
ELLEMBELLE DISTRICT
ESSIAMA32. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
AMENFI CENTRAL DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
MANSO AMENFI33. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
SUAMAN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
DADIESO
34. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
JUABOSO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
JUABOSO35. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
AOWIN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
ENCHI36. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
BOGOSO PRESTEA HUNU-VALLEY DISTRICT ASSEMBLY
BOGOSO37. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
NZEMA EAST MUNICIPLAL ASSEMBLY
AXIM38. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
JOMORO MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
HALF ASSINI39. THE COMMANDER
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
AMENFI EAST MUNICIPAL ASSEMBLY
WASSA AKROPONG40. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
WASSA AMENFI TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
WASSA AKROPONG
41. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
AOWIN TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
ENCHI42. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
SUAMAN TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
DADIESO
43. TOGBE AFEDE XIV
AGBOGBOMEFIA OF ASOGLI
PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS
ANTOAROAD, MANHYIA
KUMASI44. THE PRESIDENT
REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS
WESTERN REGION
SEKONDI45. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
SEFWI WIAWSO TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
WIAWSO46. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
BIBIANI ANHWIASO BEKWAI TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
SEFWI ANHWIASO47. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
WESTERN NZEMA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
BEYIN48. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
EASTERN NZEMA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
ATUABO49. THE ACTING PRESIDENT
UPPER AXIM TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
AXIM50. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
LOWER AXIM TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
AXIM51. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
NSEIN TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
NSEIN52. THE ACTING PRESIDENT
AJOMORO TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
APATAIM53. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
GWIRA TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
BAMIAKOR54. THE PRESIDENT
NZEMA MANLE COUNCIL
AMPAIN55. THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF
ESIKADO TRADITIONAL COUNCIL
ESIKADO56. THE MANAGER
DIABA, DIABA & CO.
P. O. BOX MC. 1987
TAKORADI57. HON. ALBERTA CUDJOE
MEMBER, COUNCIL OF STATE
WESTERN REGION
SEKONDI TAKORADI58. HON. EUNICE JACQUILINE BUAH
MEMBER, COUNCIL OF STATE
WESTERN REGION
SEKONDI TAKORADI59. DR. SHEIK OSMAN SHALEBUTU
THE CHIEF IMAM
ACCRA60. APOSTLE ERIC KWABENA NYAMEKYE
THE CHAIRMAN
CHURCH OF PENTECOST
ACCRA61. THE PRESIDENT
GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE
CATHOLIC SECRETARIAT
ACCRA62. THE PRESIDENT
METHODIST BISHOPS CONFERENCE
METHODIST SECRETARIAT
ACCRA63. THE PRESIDENT
NATIONAL PEACE COUNCIL
ACCRA64. HON. KENNEDY AGYAPONG
MP, ASSIN CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY
PARLIAMENT HOUSE
ACCRA65. THE MD/CEO
BROLL GHANA LTD
PROPERTY SERVICES
ACCRA66. THE DISTRICT COMPANY
GHANA POLICE SERVICE
ASANKRANGWA67. OTUMFUO OSEI TUTU II
ASANTEHENE
MANHYIA, KUMASI68. THE MEDIA