Nigerien remanded for acquiring Ghana biometric voter card

Hassane Hamidou Seybou, a 23-year-old Nigerien was on Thursday remanded into police custody by the Tema Circuit Court for registering in the on-going Biometric Voter Registration exercise at Afienya.

The court presided over by Mr Kyei Barfo, remanded Seybou to re-appear on May 3, after he pleaded not guilty to the charge of making false statement, in order to get his name inserted into the voter register.

Chief Inspector Adolphus Otchere told the court that Seybou, who is a trader registered as a Ghanaian at a polling station at Afienya in the Ningo-Prampram District on April 23.

He said he was presented with a voter ID number 1721041158 after successfully going through the process.

Chief Inspector Otchere said Mr Nicholas Kyei, a polling agent at one of the registration centres who is a customer to Seybou, saw him with the voter ID card on April 24, and lodged a complaint with the Tema Regional CID who was subsequently arrested after he admitted the offence in his caution statement.

He said the police retrieved from him, the biometric voter ID card, two Nigerien ID cards and a Nigerien driving license.

Seybou told the court in Pidgin English that he came to Ghana to look for his mother who was said to be a Ghanaian, hailing from Damango in the Northern Region.

He added that when he was not able to locate the mother after several years in the Northern Region, he re-located at Afienya five years ago to trade.

Seybou further stated that he was informed by a friend that the assembly man for his area was calling on all Ghanaians to go and register, adding that he also joined the queue and registered because his mother is a Ghanaian.

Source: GNA