A 52-year-old private legal practitioner in court for forging a client’s will has been granted GH₵200k bail.
The accused, Joseph Kwow Addo Sam, was hauled before the Achimota Circuit Court with four others for allegedly forging a will.
He was charged with conspiracy, forgery of official documents, altering of official documents and perjury.
In addition to the bail sum, the accused is required to provide three sureties, one of whom must be a public servant earning not less than GH₵3,000.
He is also expected to report to the case investigator every Tuesday, once every two weeks.
The private legal practitioner was in court with his four accomplices, Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba (alleged to be the chief of Banda in Accra), Abdul Salia alias Abdullai Salia Junior, Abubakar Salia and Saeed Salia (all three are siblings).
The pleas of Kwow Addo and Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba have been taken.
But in the case of Saeed Salia, his plea has been deferred to August 15, 2024.
The prosecution informed the court that Saeed Salia was arrested recently and thus the need for the charge sheet to be amended.
The prosecution did not oppose the bail request from counsel for the private legal practitioner.
Earlier, Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba (the 2nd Accused) was granted bail in the sum of GH₵150,000 with three sureties, one of whom must be a public servant earning no less than GH₵2,000.
Abdul Salia alias Abdallai Salia Junior (3rd Accused) and Abubakar Salia (4th Accused) are currently at large, and the police are on a manhunt for them.
The facts of the case suggest that the complainant, Addris Salia, is a businessman, while the first accused is Joseph Kwow Addo Sam, a lawyer.
The second accused, Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba, is the Chief of Banda in Accra while the three others are all siblings.
After the death of Alhaji Salia Abdullai (father to the three siblings), a will surfaced, purported to be his last will deposited at the court’s registry on May 7, 2024.
According to the prosecution, the will was witnessed by the now-deceased Tony Kenyin Foli and Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba (second accused).
The prosecution said the complainant became suspicious upon obtaining a copy of the will.
After conducting private checks, the complainant discovered that the signatures of his late father, Alhaji Salia Abdullai and the late Tony Kenyin Feli on the will were forged.
He then petitioned the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department for an investigation.
A certified true copy of the will was obtained from the High Court Registrar, and a statement previously submitted by Tony Kenyin Foli, who appeared as a witness on the will, was acquired from the Regional Police Headquarters/CID.
Signature samples from the late Alhaji Salia Abdullai were taken from Ecobank, Ghana Commercial Bank, and the Registrar General Department.
Both the undisputed and disputed signatures were examined by the Comptroller General of the Ghana Immigration Service Forensic Department and Spotlight Security Solution.
The investigation revealed that the signatures on the purported will and probate form (Judicial Form 35) did not match those of the named individuals.
It was determined that the private legal practitioner conspired with the others to prepare the forged will of the late Alhaji Salia Abdullai, with Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba (the 2nd Accused) signing as a witness to make it appear as the genuine last will of the deceased.
The will and associated probate form were then presented to the High Court Registry, and on August 11, 2021, the third, fourth and fifth accused applied for probate based on the forged will.
The complainant, suspecting the will’s authenticity, subsequently petitioned the police.
Mr Kwow Addo was arrested and in his caution statement to the police, he admitted to preparing and depositing the will at the High Court Probate Division on May 7, 2004.
Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba (the 2nd accused) was also arrested but refused to provide a statement to the police.
The fourth and fifth accused signed the probate form, which was procured through fraud.
The case has since been adjourned to August 15, 2024, for continuation.