Soldier arrested for recruitment fraud

Thirty-year-old Sergeant Dramani Sulemana, attached to the education unit of the Ghana Armed Forces, has been arrested by the police for defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.

Sergeant Suleman, who initially gave his name as John Ussif, allegedly collected monies from his victims numbering about 10, under the pretext of helping them to get enlisted into the Ghana Police Service.

Each victim, according to the police, paid an amount of GH?1,200 to the suspect in addition to a processing fee of GH?30.

Sergeant Sulemana then gave the victims fake appointment letters allegedly signed by the former Director General in charge of Human Resource Development, COP Hamidu Mahama Sampah, directing them to report at the Accra Police Training School on October 3, 2013.

The suspect is now in police grips assisting in investigations.

Narrating the story to DAILY GUIDE, DSP Freeman Tetteh of the Police Public Relations Unit said the victims reside in the Northern Region while the suspect is based in Accra.

In July this year, Sergeant Sulemana called one Abubakar based in Windama, a village near Bawku, to inform him that he had some links at the Police Headquarters in Accra and that he could assist any person interested in joining the police service to get enlisted.

The suspect then asked Abubakar to inform friends and family relations about the issue.

Mr Abubakar, who was also ignorant about the plan, gave the telephone numbersof John Ussif to victims to contact him personally.

The suspect, when contacted by the victims, told them to send GH30 each through MTN Mobile Money to him as processing fee while they prepared for the main charge of GH?1,200 each.

On August 2, 2013, the suspect arranged and met victims in Kumasi where he collected the charged fee of GH?1,200 from each of them.

Sergeant Sulemana then gave them the fake appointment letters together with an attached prospectus purported to have been issued by the police administration to report on October 3, 2013 at the Accra Police Training School.

One of the victims, who became alarmed after reading the appointment letter, reported the matter to a senior police officer.

A report was then lodged at the Accra Central Police, after which the suspect was picked at his hideout at Achimota on October 24, 2013.

Police investigations later revealed that Sergeant Sulemana who was an instructor attached to the education unit of the Ghana Army, left his post after defrauding some military personnel of huge sums of money last year.

Since then, the suspect had been declared wanted by the military until the police finally apprehended him.

Sergeant Sulemana, in his caution statement, admitted the act and would be processed for court soon.