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Opinions of Wednesday, 21 June 2017

Columnist: Alhaji Alhasan Abdulai

The kidnapper

Chikwudubem Onwuamadike is a notorious kidnapper who lives in Ghana Chikwudubem Onwuamadike is a notorious kidnapper who lives in Ghana

How did a non-Ghanaian kidnapper use Ghanaian passport in his nefarious activities?

Mr. Ali-Naakyea Abdallah is a legal practitioner and a specialist in taxation.

Clearly, He is a busy man being the managing partner of Ali Naakyea and Associates, but he has refused to be a spectator but a full citizen being critical on issues of national importance, yes bordering on economic, social and security issues.

He has the right to highlight the arrest of a Nigerian most notorious kidnapper in West Africa using Ghanaian passport with properties in Ghana. He praised the Ghanaian media particularly T.V 3 for telecasting the news and was full of praise for the Ghanaian security system for effecting the arrest of the criminal in collaboration with their Nigerian colleagues.

The kidnapper is dangerous and highly inconsiderate. According to the Nigerian security led by the Nigerian Inspector General of Police after arresting Nigerians, his ransom demands could be as high as $6million and can keep the kidnapped persons for as long as six months.

The question Mr. Abdallah is asking the Ghana Immigration Service and Passport Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is, how did this Nigerian acquire the Ghanaian passport which he has been using for the past years?

Mr. Abdallah lamented that, while foreigners are issued with passports easily, bona fide Ghanaians are seen in long winding queues at dawn struggling at the passport office in Accra waiting to obtain Ghanaian passports.

The puzzling issue in this matter is that this man who forged his Ghanaian citizenship has properties in Ghana and has been living in Ghana all these years.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and The Ghana Immigration Service have a duty to let Ghanaians know how this kidnapper who is a Nigerian, managed to obtain a Ghanaian passport. It must be established by the Ghana’s security system whether or not the passport in question is genuine or one which was obtained through ‘goro boys’ known as passport contractors.

A top official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed sadness over the use of Ghanaian passports by non-Ghanaians saying that steps are being taken to check on the genuineness of the passport and rectify the unfortunate happenings