Duncan Amoah’s attempt to ‘escape’ BOST MD’s defamation suit fails

An Accra High Court has thrown out an application filed by the Executive Director of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah, seeking it to dismiss a defamation case against him by the Chief Executive Officer of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) company, Alfred Obeng Boateng.

Lawyers for Mr. Amoah, led by Martin Kpebu, made an application to the court asking that the suit be dismissed because it was fraught with mistakes, particularly a wrong residential and professional address.

But according to the court, the failure to provide the address does not breach any provision in Ghana’s constitution.

The judge, Justice Gifty Dekyem, said the absence of an address amounted to an irregularity but did not nullify the defamation suit.

She subsequently gave the BOST MD 14 days to amend the writ.

The BOST MD, Alfred Obeng Boateng, has sued Mr. Amoah contending that the claims that his associate threatened the life of the defendant is false.

He is seeking an injunction keeping Mr. Amoah from making such claims as well as GHc 5 million in damages.

Alfred Obeng Boateng, Managing Director of BOST

He wants GHC 2 million damages against the defendant for damaging his professional reputation; GHc 2 million for damaging his social reputation and GHc 1 million for the psychological trauma the death threat publication has had on him.

Mr. Amoah had alleged that persons connected to the BOST MD had threatened his life after he uncovered a supposed shady deal at BOST which is believed to have cost the nation GHC 23 million in revenue.

At the centre of the threats are allegations that BOST cost the state GHC 23 million in revenue by selling some crude oil at a discount to an unregistered company.

According to Mr. Amoah, about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil was sold in the said transaction in September 2017.

Mr. Obeng Boateng, in a rebuttal, however, dismissed these claims, saying the COPEC boss was being used to distract the new BOST administration.

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By: Fred Djabanor & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citinewsroom.com/Ghana