The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has secured convictions against five foreign nationals for offences linked to human trafficking, romance scamming, and passport fraud.
Two Nigerian nationals — John Moore, 20, and Charles Bruce, 21 — were each sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty of human trafficking and romance scam-related activities. Their arrest followed the rescue and repatriation of two victims, Joseph Atungwa and Cletus Tom Emmanuel, who had been deceived with promises of lucrative jobs in Ghana but were instead handed over to the convicts for training in online fraud. The Ashaiman Immigration Command led the rescue and subsequent investigations.
In a separate case, three others — Yusuf Mohammed, 26, a Nigerian radiographer; Mohammed Ogbona, 32, a Nigerian factory worker; and Nalvine Anne Fonjong, 31, a Cameroonian trader — were convicted for falsifying information to obtain Ghanaian birth certificates and identity cards in an attempt to acquire Ghanaian passports. They were sentenced to 10 years, 15 years, and six months in prison respectively by the Tema District Court.
The GIS has warned that any attempt to unlawfully secure Ghanaian citizenship will be met with strict enforcement of the law. The Service urged foreign nationals seeking citizenship to follow legal procedures by contacting the nearest immigration office.
