Accra: A man who allegedly impersonated Mr. Joshua Alabi, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), to defraud a Council of State member, has appeared in court. Nurudeen Abdul Ganew, 40, has been charged with impersonation and defrauding by false pretences. Ganew, a businessman, along with his two brothers, Nurudeen Rashid and Nurudeen Gafaru, have been jointly charged with conspiracy to commit a crime by an Accra Circuit Court. They have denied the charges and have been granted bail of GHC150,000 with three sureties, one of which must be justified. The court, presided over by Mrs. Sedinam Awo Kwadam, has ordered the prosecution to reappear on July 21, 2025.
According to Ghana News Agency, Ganew is said to have presented himself on March 3, 2025, as Joshua Alabi to defraud by false pretences. On the same day, Ganew, who claimed to work with the Ghana Revenue Authority, made the same representation to Hakeem Addae, the Council of State member, leading to Addae parting with GHS60,000 cash to secure a Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle and later ten trucks on auction. Ganew was tracked and arrested at his house in Wa in the Upper West Region. During the arrest, four identity cards, three pen drives, four mobile phones, and cash of GHS 14,896 were retrieved.
On July 2, 2025, Rashid and Gafaru were arrested at Subinso, a suburb of Wenchi, by the National Signal Bureau. A search of their residence revealed over 12 assorted mobile phones with 12 MTN Sim Cards, one Telecel sim card, and a database of Constituency Executives of Political Parties in all the 16 regions, being a stock of targets, proceeds, and state of Mobile Money sim cards. Some of the sim cards retrieved from Rashid and Gafaru were contact numbers sent by Ganew to the complainant, where the money was deposited.
Further investigations established that the three accused persons, residing in Wa and Subinso-Wenchi, had formed a syndicate where they impersonated high-profile personalities such as politicians to defraud people. The accused targeted mostly chiefs, queen mothers, politicians, and companies. Ganew was found to be the architect of the syndicate, usually playing the role of calling the victims, and when he succeeded, the two other accused persons withdrew the funds across several mobile money merchant vendors in Wa, Wenchi, Sunyani, Techniman, Koforidua, Accra, and other areas.