A leading Accra law firm has given three media houses seven days to retract a story it says wrongly accused Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Mubarick Masawudu l of using “land guards” in a private land dispute, warning that failure to comply will trigger legal proceedings.
LIMO@LAW, acting for the senior state official, says the newspaper’s 10th September front-page report breached basic journalistic standards by publishing the allegation without verifying it or seeking their client’s side.
“It is a fundamental requirement of established journalistic standards that, before publication, you undertake the necessary enquiries, appropriately verify all allegations, cross-check and confirm facts,” the firm wrote, describing the paper’s conduct as “a serious departure from these sacred standards.”
Beyond a retraction and apology, the firm has demanded that the offending article be pulled from all of the paper’s digital and online platforms. Legal analysts say the case underscores the rising cost of unverified reporting on public officials, as libel demands increasingly target both print and online editions of Ghanaian newspapers.
Read the full demand and retraction notice below;
LIMO@LAW LEGAL PRACTIONERS & BUSINESS CONSULTANTS Office: +233 24 468 0491 Email: office@limolaw.org Website: https://limolaw.org Address: P.O. Box YK, 1090, Kanda – Accra Location: 1st Floor, Royal Heights Building, Near Goil Filling Station, Kisseman, GIMPA – Achimota Road, Accra GPS address: GA-388-2758 15th September, 2026 THE MANAGING DIRECTOR THE INSIGHT KOTOKO AVENUE, KOKOMLEMLE AYAWASO CENTRAL DISTRICT ACCRA Dear Sir, DEMAND TO RETRACT PUBLICATION AND APOLOGISE: MARITIME DEP BOSS ACCUSED …OF INTERFERENCE IN SPINTEX LAND DISPUTE We act as Solicitors for Mr. Mubarick Masawudu, the Deputy Director General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (hereinafter called “our Client”), and write on his instructions to demand the immediate withdrawal and retraction of the publication made by The Insight (hereinafter referred to as “you”) concerning our Client. Our Client’s attention has been drawn to the front page of your newspaper, dated Thursday, 10^{th} September 2026, captioned “Maritime Dep Boss Accused … Of Interference in Spintex Land Dispute.” In the said publication, you stated that our Client had been accused of using land guards in a Spintex land dispute case. The publication falsely associates our Client with violent and unlawful conduct and creates the impression that he was involved in the use of land guards in connection with a land dispute with which he is not involved whatsoever. This has exposed our Client to public opprobrium, ridicule and hostility and has placed his hard-earned integrity, standing and reputation at risk in the eyes of the public. It is a fundamental requirement of established journalistic standards that, before publication, you undertake the necessary enquiries, appropriately verify all allegations, crosscheck and confirm facts and accuracy of a story before publication. Needless to say that your failure to do so in this instance constitutes a serious departure from these sacred standards and has caused substantial prejudice to our Client. For the avoidance of doubt, our Client emphatically states that he is not a party to, nor in any way connected with, the land dispute referred to in your publication or with any of the persons involved therein. He further states that he has not, whether directly or indirectly, instructed, engaged, facilitated, funded or otherwise participated in any land guard activities relating to the said dispute. OUR CORE AREAS: Corporate Advisory | Administration and Restructuring | Commercial Transactions Intellectual Property | General Litigation | Alternative Dispute Resolution | Debt Recovery Real Estate and Construction | Family and Matrimonial 1 Our Client is a well-respected Ghanaian and a Senior Public Officer who would not interfere with court proceedings or involve himself in a dispute in which he has no interest or participation. In the circumstances, there was no factual basis for associating him with the alleged use of land guards when the publication refers to pending civil suit between the parties. In the circumstances, we have our Client’s firm instructions to demand, and we hereby demand, that within seven (7) days of your receipt of this letter, you:
- Publish a clear, unequivocal and unconditional retraction of the publication captioned “Maritime Dep Boss Accused … Of Interference in Spintex Land Dispute,” insofar as it identifies, refers to or suggests that our Client was involved in, instructed, engaged, facilitated, financed or otherwise had any connection with the alleged use of land guards;
- Publish the retraction with the same prominence as the offending publication, including on the front page of the next available edition of your newspaper and with equivalent prominence on any digital or online platform on which the offending publication was published;
- Remove and withdraw the offending publication from your digital and online platforms and cease any further publication or circulation of the same, insofar as it identifies or refers to our Client; and
- Publish an unqualified apology to our Client, with equal prominence, expressly acknowledging that the publication wrongly associated him with the alleged use of land guards and clarifying that he has no involvement or connection with the land dispute or the alleged land guard activities referred to in the publication. For the avoidance of doubt, the retraction and apology must be sufficiently clear and prominent to correct the false impression created by the original publication and must not be accompanied by any qualification, justification, repetition or restatement of the allegations against our Client. Should you fail, refuse or neglect to comply with the above demands within the stipulated period, we have our Client’s firm instructions to pursue all appropriate legal remedies available to him without further notice, including proceedings for the protection of his reputation and such other reliefs as may be available to him in law. This notice does not constitute a full statement of the facts or our Client’s case and this shall not constitute a limitation, waiver or prejudice of any of our Client’s legal rights, remedies or causes of action, all of which are expressly reserved. 2 Please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned on +233 549 476 767 or +233 577 553 235 or limann.mohammed@limolaw.org should you require any further information and/or clarification. Be accordingly advised. Yours faithfully, LIMANN A. MOHAMMED | Managing Solicitor LIMO@LAW SOLICITORS FOR MR. MUBARICK MASAWUDU Cc. Mubarick Masawudu Deputy Director General, Ghana Maritime Authority 3
