A Nigerian man, Mohammed Ogbona, alias Mohammed Alhassan, has been sentenced to 12 months in prison with hard labour by the Tema District Court for attempting to unlawfully acquire a Ghanaian passport.
He was also convicted of unlawful entry into Ghana and using false information to obtain a Ghanaian birth certificate and National Identification Card (Ghana Card).
The sentence was handed down by Her Worship Benedicta Antwi after Ogbona, 32, pleaded guilty to all charges.
He was fined GH₵2,400 for attempting to obtain the passport and Ghana Card through false claims, GH₵4,800 for the birth certificate offence, and GH₵600 for an additional charge. Failure to pay the fines will result in additional prison time. All sentences are to run concurrently.
Ogbona, a factory worker at Cimaf Cement, was arrested on June 16, 2025, at the Tema Passport Application Centre. He had presented himself as a Ghanaian named Mohammed Alhassan. However, investigations revealed he is a Nigerian national from Enugu State.
According to Prosecutor Inspector Jerry Foster Segbefia, Ogbona entered Ghana illegally via an unapproved route near the Aflao border. He then engaged an agent to help him falsify his identity, securing a Ghanaian birth certificate and Ghana Card, which he used to apply for a passport. His ultimate goal was to travel to the United Kingdom.
The prosecution urged the court to impose a custodial sentence to serve as a deterrent to others seeking to exploit Ghana’s passport and identity systems.
