38 Recruits Arrested

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday October 11, 2011.
Thirty-Eight recruits mostly believed to be National Democratic Congress (NDC) foot soldiers who presented forged appointment letters to the Assin Fosu Training Center of Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) admission have been arrested by the service.

The 38 including 17 females were taken to the GIS Accra for questioning yesterday but two NDC politicians (a Regional Minister and an MP) whose names are being withheld for now are said to be interfering in the investigations.

Daily Guide learnt that the suspects allegedly forged the signature of the Director-General who is currently in the United Kingdom on an official visit to gain admission into the service.

Two junior officers attached to the GIS Band whose names were given as Wereko and Sarkodie have also been picked up in connection with the 38 arrests.

When Daily Guide visited the GIS headquarters near the Arko Adjei Interchange in Accra to verify the facts of the case, Assistant Controller of Immigration Francis Palmdeti, Head of Public Affairs of the service confirmed the arrests and said they were handing them over to the police for further investigation.

He however said he was not aware if any Minister had called the service to ask them to be lenient with the suspects and also added that he was not aware if the suspects are NDC foot soldiers.

According to the Head of Public Affairs, 250 recruits were engaged by the service five weeks ago to undergo six months training at Fosu in the Central Region and whilst there, the suspects over the weekend rushed with their ‘appointment’ letters claiming they had been authorised by the Director-General to join the 250 already in the training.

Later another source told Daily Guide that “majority of the suspects came on Saturday while the rest arrived on Sunday and they all had similar appointment letters purportedly signed by the Director-General.”

“When the Director-General was reached in his UK base he said he had not made any such authorization and immediately ordered their arrests,” a source said.

At the GIS headquarters, Accra the Regional Minister and NDC MP were said to have placed separate telephone calls to the GIS pleading with them to be ‘lenient’ with the suspects because they have their people among them.