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A lawyer and four others appeared before the Achimota Circuit Court, facing charges of falsifying a will. Joseph Kwow Addo Sam, a 57-year-old lawyer, and Alhaji Seidu Adam Baba, an 82-year-old Chief, along with Abdullai Salia, Abubakar Salia, and Saeed Salia, have been charged with conspiracy. Sam and Baba also face charges of forgery of official documents and altering forged documents, while Sam, Abdullai Salia, Abubakar Salia, and Saeed Salia face an additional charge of perjury.
Bail Conditions
The court, presided over by Mrs. Akosua Abokyewaa Adjepong, granted bail to Sam, setting the amount at GHC200,000 with three sureties, one of whom must be a public servant earning GHC3,000 and residing within the jurisdiction. Sam is required to report to the police every fortnight on Tuesdays. Baba was previously granted bail at GHC150,000 after pleading not guilty to the charges. Saeed Salia’s plea was deferred due to his recent arrest.
Case Background
The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Isaac Babayi, did not oppose the bail and indicated that the facts of the case would be amended. According to the prosecution, Alhaji Seidu Adam Baba is the Banda Chief in Accra, and the other accused, except for the lawyer, are siblings. The complainant, Idris Salia, a businessman, raised suspicions about a will produced after the death of his father, the late Alhaji Salia Abdullai, on June 23, 2021. The will, deposited at the High Court’s Probate Division on May 7, 2004, was purportedly witnessed by the late Tony Kenyin Foli and Alhaji Salia Abdullai.
Investigations and Forensic Examination
The complainant became suspicious upon obtaining a copy of the will and conducted private checks, revealing that the signatures of his late father and Tony Kenyin Foli on the will had been forged. A petition was submitted to the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for investigation. Certified true copies of the will and statements from the Regional Police headquarters were obtained, along with signature samples from Ecobank, Ghana Commercial Bank, and the Registrar General’s Department. Forensic examination confirmed that the disputed signatures were not authored by the named individuals.
Court Proceedings
Investigations established that Sam conspired with the other accused to prepare the forged will, with Baba signing as a witness. On November 8, 2021, the three siblings applied to the High Court in Accra for a grant of probate based on the forged will. Sam was arrested and admitted in his caution statement to preparing the will and depositing it at the High Court’s Probate Division. Abubakar Salia and Saeed Salia, both at large, signed the probate form procured through fraud.
