Nigerian sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for lying to obtain Ghana Card
A Nigerian national, Usman Emmanuel, has been sentenced to 6 months in prison for posing as a Ghanaian to acquire Ghana Card.
The Asokore Mampong District Magistrate Court, however, gave the Nigerian an option of paying a fine of 250 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢3,000.
According to My Joy Online, Usman, a resident of Sawaba in Kumasi, posed as a Ghanaian in order to acquire a Ghana Card, contrary to the law.
The National Identification Authority (NIA) disclosed the arrest in a press statement in which it noted that Usman carried a Ghanaian Birth Certificate and went through the registration process.
He was left to be issued with the Ghana Card when he was caught.
“It was at this point the Regional Registration Officer (RRO) of NIA in the Ashanti Region suspected the applicant was not a Ghanaian. The RRO quickly handed him over to the Police CID at Adum, Kumasi, for further investigation.
The investigation established that despite being in possession of a valid Ghanaian Birth Certificate, Usman Emmanuel was not a Ghanaian,” the statement dated March 13 read.
The suspect was then arraigned and charged with the offence of falsely providing information about himself contrary to section 17 (C) of the National Identification Authority Act 707 (Act 2006).
At the end of the trial, the court found him guilty of the offence.
Meanwhile, the National Identification Authority has commended the Police Service for the swift and efficient manner the offence was investigated and prosecuted.
On the registration of the Ghana Card, the NIA has noted that “any foreign national, legally resident in Ghana, and with a valid resident permit can register for the Non-Citizen Card which is issued at various designated centres across the country including the NIA Headquarters.”
In January 2022, the Adjabeng District Court in Accra similarly sentences a Nigerian, Olu Olarusi Toyin Tracy and a Ghanaian accomplice, Yvette Mensah to a fine of 300 penalty units (GHS 3,600) each for providing false information in an attempt to obtain Ghana Card.
Also, the Madina District Court sentenced another Nigerian, Derick Armstrong to four months in prison for falsely claiming to be Ghanaian in a bid to register for Ghana Card.
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