A Nigerian woman has been put before an Accra Circuit Court for impersonating some Ministers of State to defraud prospective job seekers on social media.
Vivian Sajida Imran, a 31-year-old trader and her husband, Prince Joel, are alleged to have created multiple fake accounts on Facebook in the names of Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information; Shirley Ayorko Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Henry Quartey, Deputy Minister of National Security.
According to court documents, the two succeeded in defrauding many victims to the tune of GH¢10,277 under the pretext of securing jobs for them at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Ghana Gas Company, and Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD).
They then requested their victims to pay various sums of money through Mobile Money for application forms and interviews.
Vivian Sajida was arrested at Jericho at Ashaiman after the ministers had been made aware of her criminal acts and informed the National Security.
Her husband managed to escape arrest and is still at large.
The two are facing one count of pretending to be public officers and seven counts of defrauding by false pretences.
She pleaded not guilty, and the court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Essandoh, a High Court judge sitting with additional responsibility as a Circuit Court judge, granted her a bail of GH¢12,000 with two sureties, one of whom must be a public servant earning not less than GH¢1,500 a month.
The prosecutor, Detective Frederick Sarpong, presenting the facts said the accused persons used the names and photographs of the ministers to create Facebook accounts and posed as them.
He told the court that the accused persons in their calls and chats with their victims promised to secure jobs for them at TOR, Ghana Gas Company, and COCOBOD.
They then convinced their victims to pay various amounts of money totalling GH¢10,277 through Mobile Money for applications forms and interviews.
The court heard that the monies were paid into MTN numbers 0242774965 and 0551047196 and later transferred another Mobile Money account number 0248024471.
Detective Sarpong stated that the ministers who later had information about the activities of the accused persons reported the matter to the National Security.
He said the accused were tracked to their house at Jericho where Vivian Sajida was arrested, but Prince Joel managed to escape.
He said a search conducted in their room revealed six mobile phones, including the three mobile money numbers used to receive the monies from their victims.
The prosecutor added that a forensic on the phones revealed that one of them had the number 0248024471 which was registered in the name of Vivian Sajida Imran and was the number through which the money obtained from the victims were transferred and later withdrawn.