Togolese National Fined GH¢2,400 for Attempting to Obtain Ghanaian Passport Through False Declarations

The Adabraka District Court has imposed a fine of 200 penalty units, equivalent to GH¢2,400, on a Togolese national who attempted to obtain a Ghanaian passport by making false declarations about his identity and nationality.

The convict, Ayim Wakilu, a 33-year-old vulcaniser, pleaded guilty to four charges: attempting to obtain a Ghanaian passport by false declaration, obtaining a Ghanaian birth certificate by false declaration, obtaining a Ghana Card by false declaration, and illegal entry into Ghana.

Presiding judge Madam N.A.A. Owusu-Amenyo imposed fines of 50, 200, 200, and 50 penalty units respectively on the four charges, with the sentences running concurrently. In default of payment, Wakilu will serve two months’ imprisonment with hard labour.

The case began on May 15, 2026, when Wakilu was arrested at the Accra Passport Application Centre during the vetting process. Immigration officers became suspicious about his nationality and referred him to the National Reinforcement Section at the Ghana Immigration Service Headquarters for further investigation.

Assistant Superintendent of Immigration Gillian Biney, prosecuting, told the court that Wakilu had presented a birth certificate indicating he was born at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in the Greater Accra Region to a Mr Sule Ayim and a Madam Afua Kuple, both purportedly Ghanaian nationals. However, investigators found that Wakilu was unable to lead them to either parent.

Further enquiries established that Wakilu was in fact born in Togo to parents of Togolese origin. The birth certificate, it emerged, had been obtained through a self-styled agent in 2019. The same agent reportedly completed an online passport application form and secured an appointment for Wakilu to finalise the passport acquisition process.

Wakilu had obtained a Ghana Card in 2020, meaning he had been living under a false Ghanaian identity for at least six years before his arrest. Prosecutors revealed that he entered Ghana through an unauthorised route near the Aflao border in 2018 and had remained in the country without any immigration permit ever since.

The case highlights the ease with which unauthorised agents can exploit gaps in Ghana’s documentation systems, creating fraudulent identities that withstand years of casual scrutiny. The fact that Wakilu was only detected during the passport vetting process — rather than when he obtained a birth certificate or national identity card — raises questions about the rigour of verification checks at earlier stages of the documentation chain.

While the financial penalty is modest, the conviction sends a signal about enforcement. The Ghana Immigration Service has in recent months stepped up operations against illegal entry and identity fraud, reflecting a broader push to tighten border security and document integrity.

Image Source: GHANA BUSINESS NEWS