A 40-year-old businessman, Nurudeen Abdul Ganew, has appeared before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly impersonating Professor Joshua Alabi, a leading figure in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), to defraud a member of the Council of State.
Ganew has been charged with impersonation and defrauding by false pretences, while he and his brothers — Nurudeen Rashid and Nurudeen Gafaru — have also been jointly charged with conspiracy to commit crime.
All three have pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of GH¢150,000, with three sureties, one of which must be justified.
The case is being presided over by Mrs Sedinam Awo Kwadam, who ordered the accused to reappear in court on July 21, 2025.
According to the prosecution, Ganew allegedly posed as Prof. Alabi on March 3, 2025, and deceived Mr Hakeem Addae, a member of the Council of State representing the Central Region and NDC Constituency Chairman for Twifo-Atti Morkwa. Ganew, who also claimed to be an official of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), allegedly promised to assist Mr Addae in acquiring a Toyota Land Cruiser and ten auctioned trucks, leading the victim to transfer GH¢60,000 to him.
According to a GNA report, investigators later tracked Ganew to his residence in Wa, Upper West Region, where he was arrested. Items retrieved at the time included four identity cards, three pen drives, four mobile phones, and GH¢14,896 in cash.
Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of Ganew’s brothers on July 2, 2025, at Subinso, a suburb of Wenchi. A search of their residence uncovered over 12 mobile phones, 12 MTN SIM cards, one Telecel SIM card, and a database of political party constituency executives across all 16 regions of Ghana — believed to be a potential target list for future fraud.
Some of the SIM cards found were confirmed to have been used by Ganew to communicate with Mr Addae and receive payments.
Prosecutors allege the three brothers operated a syndicate that impersonated high-profile individuals, particularly politicians, to scam unsuspecting victims. Their targets reportedly included chiefs, queen mothers, political leaders, and corporate entities.
Ganew is believed to be the ringleader, handling direct contact with victims, while his brothers allegedly managed mobile money withdrawals through vendors in Wa, Wenchi, Sunyani, Techiman, Koforidua, and Accra.
