The Court gave the order pursuant to an application filed in the Court by lawyer Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, the lawyer for Mahama asking the Court to compel NIB to release funds held in an account belonging to the said Owusu Bempah to Mr. Ibrahim as payment of judgment debt.
It would be recalled that in 2018, the CEO of Engineers and Planners, Ibrahim Mahama, sued Owusu Bempah along with the Despite Group of Companies – owners of private TV station UTV last year for defamation.
According to the plaintiff Ernest Owusu Bempah, on March 3, 2018, went on UTV's morning show and, during a discussion, categorically accused Ibrahim Mahama of being a 'thief'.
In a suit filed on March 22, 2018, Ibrahim Mahama stated emphatically that, the comment made by the first defendant Ernest Owusu Bempah on UTV has done a lot of damage to his reputation as a businessman.
The presiding Judge, Justice Georgina Mensah Datsa of the Accra High Court on October 18, 2019, ruled that Bempah has defamed Mahama and awarded GH¢300,000 against him [Bempah].
"Ernest Owusu Bempah by publishing those words directed at the person of Ibrahim Mahama, he has defamed him. I shall proceed to grant judgment in favour of the Plaintiff, Ibrahim Mahama. As we move towards next year's election, we need to be guided," Justice Georgina Datsa said.
But Ernest Owusu Bempah insisted that his comments on UTV were not defamatory.