Pastor Arrested For Fraud

From left: Zebedee Hunter Obikyere and Kola Obikyere

HEAD PASTOR of the World Power Gospel Ministry at Nungua, a suburb of Tema, is in the firm grips of the Sakumono District Police Command for allegedly forging documents of the Registrar General's Department and claiming to have been contracted to register companies and shops within Tema.

The suspect, Zebedee Hunter Obikyere, a 27-year-old resident of Teshie in Accra, was said to have collected information of some companies within the Tema metropolis, claiming to be a barrister with the name Barrister Nana Kwame Nkrumah Lawyer.

He was arrested together with his brother, Kola Obikyere, a 25-year-old factory hand and a certain Gideon Boateng, who acts as his sectary.

Superintendent Alex C. Wowolo told DAILY GUIDE that the suspects and his accomplices had been visiting shops and companies to collect data from them. They went to the shops claiming to be employees of the mentioned company authorized to register companies and shops in the metropolis.

On August 2, 2011, the suspects were said to have visited a shop at Community 17 at Tema in a bid to register the shop but the sales girl was reluctant and contacted the owner on the phone, who asked them to come later.

Superintendent Wowolo noted that the suspects revisited the shop the next day at about 11:30am. The owner of the shop however became suspicious of the suspects and decided to contact the Registrar General's Department, who denied knowing the suspects.

Zebedee was said to have shown the owner a Registrar General's photo Identity Card but luck however eluded them as the police was immediately contacted and they were apprehended.

Upon interrogation, Zebedee mentioned that he was sent by one Solomon at the office of the Registrar General's Department, adding that he personally forged the documents of their company at a café.

The superintendent noted that the department denied knowing any of the suspects when they were contacted.

Superintendent Wowolo mentioned that the documents in the possession of the suspect indicated that 78 companies had been shortlisted for registration, while some had been registered but were yet to be given certificates.

Some of the documents, he mentioned, were forged documents of the Registrar General's Department and Certificates of Incorporation of some companies.

The suspect was alleged to have registered Riogenero Limited and Design Affairs Company Limited, adding that a Certificate of Incorporation and ID card bore the company's name.

The commander is therefore appealing to the general public and any victim of the suspects to contact the command.

He said the suspect would be charged with impersonation, being in possession of forged documents and forgery, after investigations into the case were concluded.

From Vincent Kubi, Sakumono