Man demands GH₵200K compensation from The Church of Pentecost elder over wrongful arrest, alleged defamation

Stephen Okyei Antwi, a sound engineer and resident of Boana in the Nkoranza area, is seeking GH₵200,000 in compensation from Elder Agyei Yeboah, a member of The Church of Pentecost, according to allegations reported by the Obra Show. The dispute arose in September 2025 when Elder Agyei Yeboah, a Dumase Central Assembly member, contacted Stephen to buy a DriveRack PA2 sound-processing device Stephen had advertised for sale.

After they met, Elder Agyei Yeboah allegedly called for police officers to arrest Stephen, who claims he was detained overnight and taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Nkoranza Divisional Police Command. There, he was accused of stealing the equipment and forced to write a statement implicating himself. Stephen asserts that subsequent investigations, including a QR code scan of the device, proved his innocence.

He claims he sought legal counsel to pursue a defamation case against Elder Agyei Yeboah and the Church of Pentecost, but his attempts to resolve the matter have been unsuccessful. Stephen alleges that he even cursed the elder in hopes of forcing a resolution, but to no avail. The incident reportedly caused Stephen significant financial, emotional, and mental losses, including a GH₵250,000 loan he gave to a family and the malfunction of his sound equipment due to lack of maintenance.

Stephen appeared on the Obra Show, hosted by Ohemaa Benewaa, to seek justice and compensation. Elder Agyei Yeboah reportedly declined to speak with the show's team, citing the matter as being before the court. Stephen further alleges that the elder had previously asked another church elder, Mr Ofori, to warn him that the dispute was not limited to Elder Agyei Yeboah and Dumase Central Assembly but also encompassed The Church of Pentecost Ghana as a whole, and that he should be cautious as he might not win the case.

Stephen's lawyer reportedly made similar remarks during the phone conversation. The church is now appealing to Elder Agyei Yeboah to compensate Stephen and settle the dispute amicably, in order to restore peace.