Nigerian welder sent to prison in Ghana for passport fraud

A court in Ghana has sentenced a Nigerian woman to six months in prison after she attempted to secure a Ghanaian passport with forged documents.

The convict, identified as 41-year-old Franca Wilson, was found guilty by the Adabraka District Court in Accra after admitting to the charges during proceedings earlier this month.

According to Ghanaian authorities, Wilson, who works as a welder, tried to present herself as a Ghanaian citizen during a passport application process. Immigration officers reportedly became suspicious after noticing discrepancies in the information she supplied.

She was arrested on April 24 at the Accra Passport Application Centre and later transferred to the National Enforcement Department of the Ghana Immigration Service for further investigation.

Investigators eventually established that she is a Nigerian from Rivers State and that both her parents are Nigerians.

Authorities said she had submitted a falsified birth certificate claiming she was born in Somanya in Ghana’s Eastern Region to a Ghanaian mother. Officials added that she failed to provide convincing details about the alleged parent when questioned.

Wilson received a six-month prison sentence with hard labour on three separate charges, with the terms to run at the same time.