A 33-year-old Togolese national, Ayim Wakilu, has been fined by the Adabraka District Court for using false declarations to obtain Ghanaian identity documents in an attempt to secure a passport.
Wakilu was convicted after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including attempting to obtain a Ghanaian passport through false declaration, acquiring a Ghana Card and birth certificate under false pretences, and entering Ghana illegally.
The court, presided over by Madam N.A.A. Owusu-Amenyo, imposed cumulative fines totalling 500 penalty units (GH¢2,400), covering all four charges. The sentences will run concurrently, with a default sentence of two months’ imprisonment with hard labour if he fails to pay.
Prosecutor Assistant Superintendent of Immigration Gillian Biney told the court that Wakilu, a vulcaniser, was arrested on May 15, 2026, at the Accra Passport Application Centre during routine verification checks that raised suspicions about his nationality.
Investigations by the Ghana Immigration Service revealed that Wakilu had presented a Ghanaian birth certificate claiming he was born at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to Ghanaian parents. However, he was unable to identify the alleged parents when questioned.
Further checks established that he was in fact born in Togo to Togolese parents, and that the information on the birth certificate was falsified. Authorities also found that he had obtained a Ghana Card in 2020 using the same false identity.
The court heard that Wakilu entered Ghana illegally in 2018 through an unauthorised route near Aflao and had since remained in the country without a valid immigration permit. He reportedly engaged an unidentified agent who facilitated the falsified documents and assisted him in completing the passport application process.
Prosecutors said he was arrested during the final vetting stage of his passport application at the Accra Passport Application Centre.
Following investigations, Wakilu admitted the offences in his cautioned statement and was subsequently arraigned before the court.
