An Accra High Court has given the National Communication Authority (NIA) the green light to continue its mass registration for the Ghana Card in the Eastern Region.
The court, presided over by Justice Anthony Oppong, a Court of Appeal judge sitting as an additional High Court judge, gave the go-ahead when he dismissed an application for injunction against the exercise as well as a suit challenging the NIA from continuing with the registration exercise after the President had placed a ban on social gatherings to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In dismissing the application, the court said it was filed based on an erroneous understanding of the President’s directive on social distancing.
Suit
The NIA had announced that it had suspended its Ghana Card registration after an outpour of public criticism in the wake of the COVID-19 spread.
However, before the NIA could officially announce the suspension, Kevor Mark-Oliver, who is the NDC Eastern Regional Secretary, and one Emmanuel Akumatey Okrah, filed a suit against the registration exercise.
They subsequently filed an application for interlocutory injunction to compel the NIA to halt the exercise, pending the determination of the suit which was scheduled for April 9.
The Attorney General then filed an application praying the court to move the date for the hearing of the application forward to yesterday which was granted by the court.
Withdrawal
Deputy Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame and lawyer for the applicants, Nii Kpakpo Addo, were both not in court when the case was called on Thursday.
The Counsel for NIA, Kwaku Asirifi, was present while a Senior State Attorney, Yvonne Bannerman, held brief for the Deputy AG whom she said was on his way to the court.
Attempted Withdrawal
Justice Oppong, having noticed the absence of the lawyers, indicated that he had seen a copy of a request seeking to withdraw the case.
He said they should have sought the leave of the court to withdraw the application and also said he was already done with his ruling on the matter.
He then proceeded to give his ruling on the application for injunction.
Ruling
He said the case of the two applicants revolved around the President’s directives on social distancing which he said the court had extensively studied.
He said it was his conclusion that the address which banned social gatherings did not bar the NIA from continuing its work.
He also held that the applicants’ rights to register have not been breached since the Ghana Card was not the only means of being registered as a voter.
Justice Oppong described the case of the plaintiffs as a ‘drunken giant’ walking on the lips of a mosquito which is bound to fall.
He subsequently dismissed the application as well as the substantive case.
Cost
Just as the judge was about to conclude his ruling, Mr. Dame representing the AG and Nii Addo, counsel for the plaintiffs, walked in.
Justice Oppong indicated to Mr. Addo that he decided to rule on the injunction because the lawyer was not around to move his motion to withdraw the case.
The Deputy AG pointed out to the court that the rules of the court required that the lawyers actually inform the court and ask for permission to discontinue the case.
The Deputy AG added that he had been attacked in the media for simply defending the state and now that the court had agreed with him, he would not even bother to ask for cost.
The Counsel for NIA, Mr. Asirifi, however, asked for a cost of GH¢20,000 against the applicants.
The court awarded a cost of GH¢6,000 against the applicants.
NIA Suspension
After the ruling, the NIA issued a statement through its Head of Corporate Affairs ACI Francis Palmdeti saying it has suspended the exercise in the ER indefinaitely until further notice.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak