Forestry Commission CEO drags Abronye DC to court for defamation
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Dr. Hugh Clement A. Brown, has dragged Bono Regional Chairman of the NPP, Kwame Baffoe Abronye widely known as Abronye DC to court in a GH¢20 million defamation suit.
The suit follows allegations made by Baffoe during a broadcast on his online television platform, OHIA TV.
In a segment aired on July 10, 2025, Abronye DC is said to have accused Dr. Brown of serious misconduct, including forging official documents, unlawfully permitting the sale of forest reserves, and backdating letters to implicate the previous administration.
The plaintiff contends that the defendants’ accusations were made with reckless disregard for the truth and have severely damaged his reputation locally and internationally.
In his suit, Dr. Brown is pursuing GH¢15 million in general damages for libel and an additional GH¢5 million in exemplary damages. He is also requesting public apologies and retractions to be aired across major television networks and published in newspapers.
“The statements were made maliciously and without any factual basis,” the Plaintiff asserted.
Dr. Brown’s legal team emphasized that the accusations suggested he was “an embezzler, a dishonest and fraudulent person, and a thief.”
According to the plaintiff, Abronye DC’s allegations included claims that he (the plaintiff) had issued documents in mid-2024, before he took on the role of Acting CEO to facilitate payments from mining companies for forest entry permits. These documents were reportedly dated May and June 2024 and bore Dr. Brown’s signature as Acting Chief Executive.
“If you backdate a letter to make it look like these events happened under the NPP regime, then you are engaging in forgery,” Baffoe stated during his ‘The Evidence’ programme broadcast.
The suit further claimed that Baffoe alleged that Dr. Brown had accepted payments through unofficial channels and redirected funds from forest reserves for personal gain.
In response, Dr. Brown firmly denied any wrongdoing, asserting that he was not in the position of Acting CEO at the time the documents were supposedly signed, rejecting any implication of financial misconduct or attempts to tarnish the image of the former NPP-led administration.
As part of his demands, Dr. Brown is asking for six televised apologies from Abronye DC to be broadcast on GTV, TV3, Joy TV, and OHIA TV, as well as printed retractions in the Daily Graphic over four consecutive weeks. He is also seeking a formal apology on all digital platforms associated with OHIA TV.
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