Tension continues to mount at Danchira in the Greater Accra Region following a deadly demolition exercise that has now exposed a long-running land dispute involving four prominent composite families and a private claimant over hundreds of acres of land.

The controversy, which has left several homes destroyed and a teenager with gunshot wounds, has drawn national attention as competing ownership claims emerge over a vast stretch of land at Danchira.

At the centre of the dispute is a 700-acre parcel of land where a demolition exercise carried out on May 6 resulted in chaos and tragedy.

During the operation, a 19-year-old Senior High School student identified as Nii Lamptey was reportedly shot by police officers deployed to provide security at the scene.

Several houses and structures were pulled down during the exercise, leaving many families displaced and property owners devastated.

The demolition was reportedly supervised by one Frederick Kofi Asare, who claimed he had legal authority and court backing to reclaim the land and remove all structures on it.

However, the operation has since been challenged by four composite families; the Sawer Pramano, Juabeng, Kubeshishi and Amanfo families who insist that the land in question forms part of a much larger tract of Danchira lands that legally belong to them.

According to Supreme Court documents, the families jointly own and manage approximately 10,396.639 acres of land at Danchira, including the contentious 700-acre parcel where the demolitions took place.

The families argue that their ownership of the land has already been conclusively determined by the courts, including the Supreme Court of Ghana, and therefore any attempt by another party to exercise ownership rights over the property is unlawful.

Historical records tied to the dispute indicate that Frederick Kofi Asare, through a 2005 High Court suit, claimed to have acquired the disputed land on June 1, 2001 from the Djan-Bi Amu Family of Accra and Danchira.

Mr. Asare maintained in court documents that the land transaction granted him valid ownership rights over the area, forming the basis of his claim and subsequent actions regarding the property.

However, the matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, where a final determination was made on the ownership of the Danchira lands.

In a judgment delivered on April 13, 2016, the Supreme Court affirmed an earlier High Court ruling that the Danchira lands are owned by the four composite families — Sawer Pramano, Juabeng, Kubeshishi, and Amanfo.

The apex court’s ruling effectively rejected the ownership claims advanced by the Djan-Bi Amoo Family and parties associated with it, including FKA Co. Ltd., linked to Frederick Kofi Asare.