A Circuit Court in Accra has remanded a 43-year-old man who allegedly posed as a soldier and defrauded a businessman of GH¢192,000 under the pretext of providing security services.
The accused, Mahama Sani Razak, also known as Major Zack Gariba Tanko, has denied charges of defrauding Mr Lambon Justice Iddrisu by falsely claiming that he and junior military personnel would protect the complainant’s land from land guards.
Razak was remanded by Circuit Court Eleven and is expected to reappear on February 10, 2026.
The court further directed the prosecution to send the accused, who appeared in court on crutches, to the hospital for medical examination after he alleged that he sustained injuries during his arrest.
Presenting the facts, Police Chief Inspector Ebenezer Teye-Okuffo told the court that the complainant is a businessman residing at North Legon, while the accused claimed to be a miner living at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region.
According to the prosecution, the complainant owns plots of land at Kwabenya and, in March 2025, the accused introduced himself to him as a military officer.
Chief Inspector Teye-Okuffo said the accused later took the complainant to Burma Camp, where he further represented himself as a Major in the Ghana Armed Forces, stationed at the Military Police Unit.
During their interactions, the complainant informed the accused that land guards were harassing him on his Kwabenya land.
The accused then claimed he had the authority to deploy junior military officers to ward off the land guards.
Convinced by these representations, the complainant agreed, after which the accused demanded and received GH¢192,000 to undertake the operation.
The court heard that the accused provided three MTN Mobile Money numbers with different account names, through which the amount was transferred.
After receiving the money, the accused allegedly failed to carry out the agreement and subsequently went into hiding.
Chief Inspector Teye-Okuffo said further checks at the Ghana Armed Forces established that the accused was not a military officer. Armed with this information, the complainant reported the matter to the police, leading to the accused’s arrest.
Investigations also revealed that one of the Mobile Money accounts used belonged to the accused’s wife, who, upon arrest and interrogation, admitted receiving unspecified sums of money, which she withdrew on behalf of her husband.
The prosecution said the accused was initially arraigned before Circuit Court Three on July 8, 2025, and charged with fraud. He pleaded not guilty and was granted bail in the sum of GH¢300,000 with two justified sureties.
However, after meeting the bail conditions, the accused allegedly absconded, leading to the case being struck out on November 4, 2025, for want of prosecution.
The court heard that in January 2026, the Accra Regional Police Command received information that the accused had been arrested at Akuse in the Eastern Region in connection with a similar offence.
A new charge sheet was subsequently filed, and the accused was brought before the court.
Counsel for the accused, Mr Theophilus Donkor, in praying for bail, told the court that Razak is a businessman who owns two shops and three properties at East Legon, and is married to four women, three of whom are serving police officers.
He argued that the accused had pleaded not guilty and was therefore presumed innocent until proven guilty, adding that bail was at the discretion of the court. He also claimed the accused required medical attention, alleging that he was assaulted during his arrest.
The prosecution opposed the bail application, describing the accused as a fugitive who was likely to abscond again if granted bail.
GNA
