A Tema Circuit Court has granted bail of GHc10,000 to three persons who unlawfully caused damage to pillars on a land at Kordiabe in the Shai-Osudoku District.

The court presided over by Mrs. Lydia Osei-Marfo granted them bail with one surety each to reappear on May 20.

Abraham Adamptey, a driver, Nene Abla Tetteh and John Tetteh Odonkor, both businessmen, pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and causing unlawful damage.

A fourth accused person, Francis Nartey Adamptey, a teacher, did not appear in court.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Stanley Dzakpasu, prosecuting, said all accused persons and Asafoatse Tetteh Otenge V, the complainant, who is a farmer and a traditional leader, reside at Kordiabe.

ASP Dzakpasu said the complainant is from the Sansro Clan, and the accused persons, who belong to the Madaam Clan, have been claiming ownership over a piece of land at the outskirts of Kordiabe in the Shai Osudoku District Greater Accra Region.

The Prosecutor said both clans are sub-clans of the Lekpedje Division of the Shai State.

The court heard that, on February 10, the Police received a letter from a youth group of Madaam clan seeking clearance and protection to embark on a demonstration against the complainant and his associates whom they claimed were encroaching upon and selling out their land indiscriminately.

ASP Dzakpasu said according to the letter, the matter was referred to the Shai Osu-Doku Legal Aid for settlement, but no amicable solution was reached.

He said on the morning of February 28, the accused persons led a group of people onto the land and destroyed the pillars erected on it.

The 12 fencing pillars and 480 ordinary pillars destroyed by the accused persons are worth GHc30,000