Publishers of the Daily Post newspaper and its editor, Michael Dokosi, have been ordered by an Accra High Court to pay an amount of GHc 800,000 to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) board Chairman, Hackman Owusu Agyeman.

This was after the court found them guilty of a publication that injured the person of Mr Agyemang.

The defendants were also asked to within two weeks, retract the defamatory story and apologise on the front-page of the newspaper.

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Mr Hackman Owusu Agyeman filed a GHc5 million suit against Giraffe Publications, publishers of the Daily Post newspaper and the Editor, Michael Dokosi, and one Haruna Mahama, for defamation over remarks by the Daily Post.

The defendants, Mr. Dokosi and Mahama Haruna had alleged that Mr. Owusu-Agyemang recorded and leaked a tape of a secret meeting which was being held by the former President John Kufuor, some members of the clergy and some party elders at the former’s residence in Accra recently.

Mahama Haruna had in the said publication indicated that Mr Owusu-Agyemang deliberately recorded and leaked the story in order to embarrass Mr Kufuor for allegedly making comments that will affect the prospects of Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2016 elections.

Among the claims sought by Mr. Owusu-Agyeman were; “damage for libel in the sum of GHc 5 million, an order of perpetual injunction to restrain the Defendants, whether by themselves, their agents, servants, workmen, privies or any of them or otherwise from further writing, printing, publishing and/or causing to be written, printed and published the said words or similar statements defamatory of the plaintiff.”