More than 15 households in New Dawenya, Tema Community 25, were reportedly forced out of their homes on Wednesday as court bailiffs, accompanied by police officers, moved to enforce a judgment linked to a long-running land ownership dispute.

The affected residents, some of whom say they have lived in the area for more than a decade, claim they were left stranded after being ordered to vacate their properties to allow possession of the land to be handed over to a party that had won a court case.

Speaking in an Interview on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, one resident described the dramatic scenes that unfolded early in the day.

"I'm currently in front of my house. It's been locked up," she said.

According to her, residents woke up to the presence of heavily armed security personnel and court officials carrying out an eviction exercise.

"This morning, we woke up to about over 15 fully armed men, policemen, and I think two bailiffs from the Accra High Court," she recounted.

She said the officials informed residents that they were acting on a court order.

"They say that they have the court order to eject all the residents from their house, evacuate all their property, our household items from our house, so that possession can be given to the one who has won the court judgment," she explained.

The resident said the eviction stems from a long-standing dispute over land ownership in the Dawenya area, a matter that has been the subject of litigation for years.

"It's the usual Dawenya case that has been at the Supreme Court for a long time," she said. "There have been times that one family would win, the other would lose, and then the other would take it back to court and then win. It's been that forth and back."

She explained that her family purchased the land at a time when one of the contesting families had secured a favourable court ruling.

"When we bought the land, it was at a time when one of the families had won. We actually took a look at the documents before we purchased it," she said.

Despite that, she said residents are now paying the price for a legal battle that predates their ownership.

"It just happens that we are victims of circumstance," she added.

The woman said her family has lived on the property for about 14 years and was caught off guard by the latest developments.

"As we speak, we are out of the house with our belongings outside," she said.

She added that the situation had disrupted normal life for many families, including school-going children.

"Our children are in the car. They are unable to go to school because everything happened without notice, if I should put it that way."

According to her, more than 15 houses have been affected by the exercise.

She also claimed residents were never offered an opportunity to regularise their ownership or negotiate with the party that eventually secured the judgment.

"We were not given the opportunity to repurchase the land," she said.

The resident alleged that the successful claimant's intention has always been to regain possession of the land.

"It looks as if the hard desire or the agenda of the supposed owner has always been to take possession of the land and demolish every property," she claimed.

She further stated that she had been informed that the individual who won the case is a medical doctor and may intend to develop a medical facility on the land, although she acknowledged that she could not independently verify the information.

"That's what I'm told. I can't speak evidently to that, though," she said.

The affected resident said that many of the properties involved are fully developed homes occupied by families.

"My house is fully completed. It's a fully completed house," she said.

She said that while some of the affected buildings are occupied by owners, others are rental properties. She also said some people had suspended construction projects because of the prolonged litigation.

"Some of them were building, they couldn't continue because of this same litigation," she said.

Although police officers were present during the operation, the resident said they had not used force at her property.

"They don't use force. We dialogue," she said.

However, she alleged that attempts by residents to engage the successful claimant had yielded little progress.

"The doctor in question doesn't want to talk to anyone," she said, adding that representatives of the affected households were only recently granted an opportunity for discussions.

She also disclosed that residents had previously challenged an attempt to secure a demolition order.

"A court order was sought earlier from the High Court to demolish the house. But then an appeal was made, and the Appeal Court did not grant demolition rights, even though they still judged the property or the land in favour of the doctor," she said.

With many families now displaced, the resident said uncertainty hangs over their future.

"It's a difficult question to answer. We have no idea where to go from here, what to do from here. We have no single idea," she said when asked about their next steps.

She appealed for compassion and dialogue, urging the successful claimant to consider a negotiated settlement.

"If the doctor is listening, I would just appeal to him that he should be human enough. Let's have a seat," she said.

"If he wants us to repurchase the land, we can have that negotiation. We are open to that. We've been open to that for all these years."

For now, she said the immediate concern for many affected families is finding shelter and a safe place to store their belongings.

"We are just looking for a place to put our stuff and put our head for tonight as we think of the next line of action," she said.