An ex-military officer has appeared before the Kaneshie District Court on charges that he solicited GH55,000 from two complainants under the false pretense that he would recruit nine of their relatives for the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS).
Bawa Abdul Rahman, who was accused of defrauding by false pretenses on two counts, entered a not-guilty plea.
Rahman stated that after collecting the funds, he gave it to Abass, a “NPP man” who had open spaces for protocol enlistments into the GIS.
The accused claimed that after receiving the money, the alleged NPP member, who is situated in the Northern Region, was unreachable.
Rahman denied paying any fees prior to joining the Army when the court questioned him about it.
Rahman was granted bail in the amount of GHC 50,000 with two sureties by the court ruled over by Oheneba Kuffour, a Circuit Court Judge sitting with extra Magisterial responsibilities.
He’s anticipated to show up again on December 7.
According to Chief Inspector Kwame Asiamah, the accused also lived in Essikado, Takoradi, where the complainant Gideon Yeboah and Asabre Eric Baffour were military officers.
According to the prosecution, the accused introduced himself in April 2022 as an ex-military officer with protocol spots available for GHC12,000 each.
According to the prosecution, when the two complainants became interested, Yeboah handed the accused GHC 20,000 to cover the expenses of four of his friends and family.
According to the report, Rahman was able to obtain GHS 35,000 from Asabre over the same time frame under the pretense of obtaining protocol slots for five of his family members and acquaintances.
According to the prosecution, the defendant failed to fulfill his commitment after receiving the money and fled.
It said that the complainant reported the incident to the GIS after realizing they had been cheated.
After each victim paid GHS500 to enable their recruitment into GIS, the accused was able to arrange on September 15 for the victims to attend a medical examination at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
According to the prosecution, Rahman admitted to the crime when being questioned and said he provided one Abass GH$55,000 but failed to direct the police to the named Abass.
Source: newsthemegh.com