A Ho High Court in the Volta Region presided over by Justice Kofi Essel-Mensah has ordered the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) to pay an amount of GH¢ 245.328.75 to Mr Evans Yao Kumah, in respect of a lottery he won as far back as May 5, 2009 at Hohoe. The amount represented the initial winning amount of GH¢ 157.254.00, an interest accruing from that date till the day of judgement plus cost of GH¢ 15,000.00. According to the plaintiff's statement of claims, he on May 5, 2009 won the said amount in the lottery organised by the NLA. Mr Kumah said he won with the numbers 41-89-5 which he staked with GH¢100.00, and also permed. Mr Kumah said when the numbers were drawn and he realised that he had won, he approached the NLA for payment but they kept tossing him about. In their statement of defence, the NLA said they found out that the procedure used in certifying and validating wins of lotto draws was violated. In this case, they contended that when personnel of the NLA checked the returned coupons, they found out that the plaintiff’s duplicate coupons, which he bought from Agent 60023 at Hohoe were found in Agent 60203's coupons from Kadjebi, a distance of about 40 kilometres apart. The NLA claimed that every coupon had a unique serial number which was only duplicated in a booklet sold to a particular agent or receiver through his licensing market company and so it could not be found in another agent's or receiver's coupon. The NLA said it felt there was something fishy happening, so they also put in a counter claim for malicious prosecution. During cross-examination, the court found out that there could have been a mistake during the checking of the coupons. "It was revealed that after the receivers have presented their parcels to the defendants, the parcels are opened by checkers who check them with the statement of accounts and also find out whether any of the parcels have not mixed with the others." The court presided over by Justice Essel-Mensah said in its ruling that the NLA might not be justified in refusing to pay the prize money if a lotto company or licensed receiver refused to comply with a term of the contract or a provision of the law which affected the validity of a coupon. The court, therefore, dismissed the NLA's counter-claim and ordered them to pay the said amount to the plaintiff, Mr Kumah. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana