Afia Akoto sues A Plus for defamation, demands GHc5M in damages
A campaign team member of New Patriotic Party’s Presidential Candidate, Alberta Afia Akoto, has sued Kwame Asare Obeng popularly known as A-Plus for defamation.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Adepa Group of Companies, a group of companies in the business of import of cosmetic products and groceries is also demanding damages of GHc5 million for defamation including exemplary and punitive damages.
The former Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining A-Plus from further publishing alleged defamatory words her.
In a writ of summons issued on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, the Plaintiff in her four reliefs is also asking the Court to order the hiplife artist to retract his comments against her.
In her statement of claims attached to her writ of summons Afia Akoto said A-Plus who had declared his intention to contest as an Independent Parliamentary Candidate for the Gomoa Central Constituency, authored words which were defamatory.
The former Deputy Director of Communication for the New Patriotic Party between 2012 and 2016 and currently a member of the campaign team of the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party for the upcoming 2024 general elections seeks the following reliefs.
She said A-Plus (Defendant) maliciously published the statements with the intent to lower her integrity and reputation of Plaintiff and to cause disaffection towards Plaintiff from the general Ghanaian populace.
“Defendant’s statements have caused emotional and psychological trauma to Plaintiff’s children who are in the university, and has affected their studies adversely,” she noted in her Statement of claims.
“Defendant made the statements to score cheap political points, to enhance his social media following and to attract more support for his parliamentary candidature,” she stated.
Reliefs
i. A declaration that the statements contained in Defendant’s Facebook posts of 12th July 2024, published of and concerning Plaintiff, and stated in paragraphs 9 and 12 of the statement of claim, are defamatory of Plaintiff.
ii. Damages of GHS 5,000,000.00 (Five Million Ghana Cedis) for defamation including exemplary and punitive damages
iii. An order of perpetual injunction restraining Defendant from further publishing or causing to be published the said or similar words defamatory of Plaintiff
iv. An order directed at Defendant to retract the foul statements about Plaintiff contained in the Facebook publications of 12m July 2024, together with an apology to Plaintiff in the medium and with the same prominence.
