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The Director of the Animal Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Naaminong Karko, has called on the government to intervene to stop estate developers from encroaching on the land belonging to the institute. He said the land which was situated in the Adenta Municipality in Accra had been heavily encroached upon, a situation which is hampering research activities of the institute. The director made the call when the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Afotey Agbo, paid a working visit to familiarise himself with work at the institute. The Animal Research Institute, he said, essentially researched for knowledge into the development of all aspects of poultry and livestock production in Ghana. Court battles He enumerated a number of research projects that the institute was currently undertaking, which, he said, would create jobs for the benefit of the country. "Ever since I assumed office over the past eight years, I have been going in and out of courtrooms over encroachment of the institute�s lands and I think enough is enough," he said. The irony of the situation is that while the institute is in court battling to stop the invaders, more of them continue to build. He said on a number of occasions, the developers had threatened management with death if they so much as dared to question them over the land. According to Dr Karko, the encroachers had built close to a dam that had been built by the institute for the supply of water for animals that were being investigated. �We live in a land that is governed by laws; as such people should not be made to take the law into their own hands. "You could imagine what the consequences would be should there be a spillage from the dam," he said. Lands Commission The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Afotey Agbo, advised individuals wishing to own land in the area to, first of all, conduct a search at the Lands Commission before they would begin any project. He said there were some lands in the Greater Accra Region that were acquired by the government for use by the state. He, therefore, cautioned people encroaching on government lands to put a stop to it immediately. Nii Afotey Agbo also visited the new site of the O�reilly Senior High School located in Teshie. Here too, the school land was being encroached upon. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, who was visibly unhappy with the developments, said: "Ghana is not a lawless country and individuals who have decided to take the law into their own hands should be prepared to face the music."