The Minister of National Security, Mr Albert Kan Daapah, has filed an order for substituted service on Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor.
Mr Dapaah’s counsel, Daniel Agyekum, filed the order which is an ex-parte motion, after unsuccessful attempts to serve Barker-Vormawor with the original suit, in which the minister is demanding GH¢10 million compensation from the defendant for defamation.
Consequently, the court has directed that a copy of the substituted service be posted on the notice board of the court for a period of 14 days and a publication made in a newspaper.
Per the court’s order, an order for substituted service is used to serve a party when personal service was unsuccessful.
Mr Dapaah sued Barker-Vormawor, a private legal practitioner, and human rights activist for defamation.
The lawyer stated in a Facebook post that Mr Dapaah offered him and others US$1 million in order to stop the Fix the Country Movement activism.
According to Barker-Vormawor “they went as far as offering us US$1 million, they offered us a committee appointment, set up a committee and appoint us to government positions in order to stop this activism. This was made directly to me and other leaders of Fix the Country Movement… This conversation we had with the Minister of National Security, the Minister of Finance and a Brigadier General at a safe home. “
The National Security Minister denied the allegations and caused his counsel to issue a writ of summons against Barker-Vormawor.
Mr Dapaah is seeking a number of reliefs from the court, including a declaration that the words uttered by the defendant were defamatory of the plaintiff.
The minister urged the court to award GH¢10 million as general damages, aggravated and or exemplary damages for defamation for the words uttered by the defendant.
Mr Dapaah is also demanding an apology for and retraction of the words complained of and a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from repeating similar or other defamatory words against the plaintiff and costs
BY MALIK SULLEMANA