Nii Boi IV Destooled as Abeka Mantse — How It Came to This

Background: Prior Engagement by the Royal Family

Prior to any public proceedings, the Nii Boi Royal Family engaged Nii Boi IV on multiple occasions through its elders and senior members. The family documented a pattern of conduct it considered incompatible with the responsibilities of the Abeka stool and the constitutional standing of the Nii Boi Royal Family. Those approaches did not result in a change of conduct.

The Dodoo Family and the Court Record

Central to the family's concern was Nii Boi IV's association with the Dodoo family — specifically with Ansah Dodoo, the son of Nii Amu Dodoo. The standing of the Dodoo family in relation to the Abeka stool and the Dzaasetse office is not a new question. It is a matter of settled legal record going back four decades.

1984 — Nii Amu I Claims Dzaasetse Authority: Rejected

In Suit No. GAR/P/4/84, heard before the Chieftaincy Tribunal of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs sitting at Guggisberg Memorial Hall, Dodowa on 27th November 1984, Nii Amu I — Abeka Djasetsε and Others petitioned against Nii Boi II, claiming that as Dzaasetse, Nii Amu I had the constitutional authority to enstool and destool the Abeka Mantse. The Tribunal rejected this claim entirely.

Ruling — Chieftaincy Tribunal, GAR/P/4/84 (1984)

The Tribunal found that Nii Boi II had been properly and constitutionally enstooled as Abeka Mantse and that his name had been duly registered in the National Register of Chiefs, Greater Accra Region, as far back as 15 February 1984 — prima facie evidence under Sec. 50(8) of the Chieftaincy Act, Act 370. The interim injunction application by Nii Amu I and the Dodoo side was dismissed. The Tribunal confirmed that the Dodoo family had no authority to interfere with the constitutional installation of the Abeka Mantse.

A Ghana Police report dated 22 August 1985 further documents the Dodoo opposition. At a meeting convened at Divisional Headquarters, Nima, Nii Amu Dodoo appeared on the opposing side, still styling himself "Dzaasetse." When the tribunal proceedings were read out, the police report records that it became abundantly clear Nii Boi II was the recognised chief of Abeka. The opposing side — led by their Stool Secretary — could produce no documentary evidence to contradict this.

2002 — Dodoo Family Rejected Again by High Court

Despite the 1984 ruling, the Dodoo family renewed their challenge in the courts. In Suit No. Misc. 1675/2002, presided over by Her Lordship Mrs. Felicity Amoah, the High Court of Ghana again ruled against them.

Core Ruling — High Court of Ghana (2002)

The High Court issued a perpetual injunction confirming the exclusive constitutional authority of the Nii Boi Royal Family over the Dzaasetse office and all enstoolments within Abeka. The Dodoo family's claim to the Dzaasetse position was rejected for a second time. On the strength of that judgment, the Ga Traditional Council directed Nii Boi II to proceed with his enstoolment as Abeka Mantse. The injunction remains in force.

Ansah Dodoo is the son of Nii Amu Dodoo — the same man whose Dzaasetse claim was dismissed by the Chieftaincy Tribunal in 1984 and by the High Court in 2002. The title was not his father's to hold, and it is not his to inherit. No court has ever recognised the Dodoo family as holding the Dzaasetse office of Abeka.

Nii Boi IV's decision to associate with Ansah Dodoo — knowingly aligning himself with a family whose claims had been twice rejected by the courts over four decades — runs directly contrary to the constitutional framework of the Abeka chieftaincy and to the binding orders of both the Chieftaincy Tribunal and the High Court of Ghana.

The Act of Overturning the Stool

In addition to the above, Nii Boi IV performed an act that carries a specific and unambiguous meaning under Ga customary law: he came and turned down the Abeka stool.

Under Ga tradition, a chief who physically overturns the stool has relinquished the chieftaincy by his own hand. The stool is the physical embodiment of the office — the point of connection between the living Mantse, the ancestors, and the people of Abeka. To overturn it is, in the eyes of Ga custom, to vacate the office. By this act, the office was held under Ga customary law to have been relinquished by Nii Boi IV before the family formally convened.

The Press Conference

The Nii Boi Royal Family convened a formal press conference to place its position on the public record. The proceedings were covered by Ablade TV. Dzaasetse Nii Apiakai I addressed the media and set out in full the complete enstoolment history of all Abeka chiefs from the founding of the stool to the present, establishing the constitutional basis on which the family acted.

Those present at the press conference included:

• Dzaasetse Nii Apiakai I (Jonathan Yartey Boye) — Acting Head of the Nii Boi Royal Family, who led the formal address to the media.
• Chief of the Nii Boi Maŋ — present as a senior traditional authority.
• The Abeka Stool Father — the internal custodial authority of the stool, whose presence gave the declaration full constitutional weight under Ga customary law.
• The Kingmakers of the Nii Boi Royal Family — the constitutionally recognised body responsible for the enstoolment and destoolment of the Abeka Mantse, acting in concert.
• Senior elders and members of the Nii Boi Royal Family, present in red in accordance with the gravity of the occasion.

Official Position of the Nii Boi Royal Family

The Nii Boi Royal Family declared through this press conference that Nii Boi IV no longer holds any position, title, or authority in relation to the Abeka stool or the Abeka Traditional Area. The stool is to be regarded as vacant, pending the proper selection and enstoolment of a new Mantse by the kingmakers in accordance with Ga customary law and the constitutional structure of the Nii Boi Royal Family.

The family reaffirmed that the stool lands and all traditional authority within Abeka remain exclusively vested in the Nii Boi Royal Family, as confirmed by the High Court of Ghana, and that the perpetual injunction granted in Suit No. Misc. 1675/2002 continues to bind all parties.

Video evidence of the press conference, recorded by Ablade TV and eyewitnesses:

Source: Ablade TV and eyewitness recordings. All footage preserved for historical and legal record.