Fake soldier busted over military recruitment scam

The police have arrested a 32-year-old man suspected to have duped one Richmond Ohene Addo of his GH₵2,800, under the pretext of securing him a slot in the Ghana Army.

The suspect, Tanko Sani, who posed as a soldier was arrested on Monday, November 8, 2021.

The Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebenezer Tetteh, said the suspect will be put before the court as soon as investigations are completed.

He urged the public to desist from paying bribes as a means to be recruited into any security service as criminals were always looking forward to take advantage of persons desperate to be enlisted into any of the security services.

“Suspect Saani Tanko was arrested and is currently assisting the police in investigation. The police would want to advice all persons who have interest in joining any of the security services that they shouldn’t fall prey to such criminals who go around and parade themselves as persons who can assist in whatever way to help them join the security service.

“They should not part with any money because these people are common criminals who are preying around looking for people to take advantage of because of the desperation of such prospective applicants to join the security service by all means,” he stressed.

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) a few months ago held recruitment exercise for new personnel.

The exercise saw thousands of young people throng the El-Wak Sports Complex for the documentation and medical screening process.

Those who showed up for the exercise included Senior High School graduates, degree and diploma holders.

Aside the GAF, the government recently gave clearance for the recruitment of personnel into the various security agencies.

The Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Prison Service and Ghana Police Service have begun processes of recruitment.

Recruitment scams has been persistent and worse during recruitment exercises.

Early this year, a police officer, Sergeant Kennedy Asomani, was hauled before the Accra Circuit Court for duping 44 persons of GH¢100,000 with the promise of enlisting them into the service. The case is still pending in court.

Ahead of the recruitment exercise for the police this year, the administration issued a stern warning to fraudsters who target job seekers to stay off its upcoming recruitment process.

The acting Director-General of the Public Affairs Directorate of the service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kwesi Ofori, had said in an interview that “any fraudster who wants to take advantage of the publication of the Ghana Police Service 2021 recruitment process to swindle people will be dealt with ruthlessly according to the law.”

He urged interested parties seeking to join the service to be vigilant and report any scammer who used illegitimate means and social media platforms in an attempt to swindle unsuspecting people.

“The public must be wary of advertisers or persons requesting an upfront fee for processing your applications. A genuine advertiser or employer will not ask you for money.

“The fraudsters also request for money transfer. Nobody should part with money through any middleman to facilitate his or her recruitment into the police service,” ACP Ofori said.

He said the public must also take note of scammers who requested non-work-related personal information, such as “your appearance or marital status”.

“A recruiter should only need to meet the general requirements specified in the publication,” he added.

He reiterated that the police had not contracted any middleman for recruitment processes.

“Any person who claims to be selling recruitment forms should be ignored. We are not selling any recruitment forms for the process,” he cautioned.