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A Commercial High Court in Sekondi has granted an application for interlocutory injunction filed by Hansol Group of Companies at Samreiboi in the Western Region restraining the state from further interfering in company�s operations until the finally determination of the matter. The company was reportedly attacked on its premises after the formation of the inter-ministerial task force, and in June this year an appeal was made by the company to the President to intervene and halt what it described as unfair, inhuman and politically-motivated attacks, but to no avail. With the court�s ruling, staff of the company can work without fear of further attacks. A cost of GH�1,000 was awarded against the state. The legal team of Hansol and Akonta Mines, led by Egbert Fabille Jnr, specifically cited the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Justice, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces and Victor Samuel Meisu, District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Wassa Amenfi as defendants, whose actions led to damage running into millions of dollars through the inter-ministerial task force set up by President John Dramani Mahama. In the original suit, the plaintiffs prayed the court to grant them special costs, damages and compensation for damaged property following attacks by the presidential task force. Delivering his ruling, the presiding vacation judge, Justice Kofi Akrowuah said the court had no genuine grounds to refuse the application. According to him, the company had proven to the court that it had a legitimate contract with the state to prospect for gold and that its license had not been revoked. He further stated that there was no justification for the forceful entry and its accompanying violence perpetuated by the task force at the company�s site. He explained that such attacks cause negative publicity that could discourage investments and job creation, and subsequently dismissed the AG�s opposition to the application. He described the actions of the task force as violent and without merit, saying such actions could not be countenanced under the country�s current democratic dispensation. Justice Akrowuah therefore restrained the state and its agents, servants or hirelings from interfering in the company�s operations until final determination of the matter pending before the court. He further explained that state agencies have a role to play in monitoring such activities but should do so upon prior notice to the concession owners or use appropriate processes stipulated in the contract agreement. An official of the company, who was in the court, told the media that a recent inspection conducted on some of its seized equipment in the custody of the task force at Asakragwaa revealed that some vital parts of the equipment worth millions of Ghana cedis had been removed, thus rendering them non-functional. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the company Edward Kwasi Akuoko revealed that it took their legal team and management more than three months of painstaking investigations and due diligence to initiate the legal action against the state. �Government in response maintained a consistent position saying the company�s activities were illegal and that the attacks were justifiably authorized,� he added. After securing the restraining order, Mr Akuoko stressed that the company would soon mobilize its workers to go to site to continue its operations. He stated that the action of government did not only affect over 600 workforce at the Akonta Mine prospecting project, but led to a huge financial loss to the company and state by way of direct taxes respectively. He however expressed disappointment at the cost awarded against the state, saying it did not fairly represent the actual cost incurred by the company in the court processes.