Court bails fake soldier GH¢192,000 over security scam

An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to a 43-year-old man accused of impersonating a soldier and collecting GH¢192,000 from a businessman for a security operation that prosecutors say never happened.

Mahama Sani Razak, who is also referred to in court as “Major Zack Gariba Tanko”, is alleged to have promised to deploy junior military personnel to protect land at Kwabenya from land guards.

He denies the accusation.

The court, presided over by Basilia Adjei-Tawiah, granted him bail of GH¢90,000 with two sureties. One surety must be justified, while the other must be a government worker earning at least GH¢2,500, the judge ruled.

Razak has also been ordered to deposit his Ghana Card with the court registry and to report to police every Tuesday. He is due back in court on 13 April 2026.

The accused had previously been remanded after bail was refused on 2 February 2026.

Prosecutors say the complainant, Lambon Justice Iddrisu, a businessman living at North Legon, owns plots of land at Kwabenya and was facing trouble from suspected land guards.

According to the prosecution, Razak met him in March 2025, introduced himself as a military officer and later took him to Burma Camp, where he claimed to be a major in the Military Police.

Police allege that the complainant, believing the representation, agreed to pay GH¢192,000 for a planned security deployment. The money was sent through three separate MTN Mobile Money numbers, each registered under different names, prosecutors said.

Investigators say no protection was provided and the accused later went into hiding. Checks with the Ghana Armed Forces, prosecutors told the court, indicated he was not a soldier.

Police further allege that one of the mobile money accounts used belonged to the accused’s wife, who admitted receiving and withdrawing amounts on his behalf.

Court records, prosecutors said, show Razak was first charged in July 2025, pleaded not guilty and was granted bail of GH¢300,000, but later failed to return to court after meeting the conditions. The case was struck out in November 2025.

Prosecutors opposed the latest bail request, arguing that he was a flight risk, and told the court he had been arrested in Akuse in January 2026 in connection with a similar allegation.

His lawyer, Theophilus Donkor, argued that the accused has a permanent address and would comply with the trial process. The court ultimately granted bail with stricter reporting and identification conditions.