Woes Of First-Year SHS Student

A 16-year-old prospective student of the Northern Business High School in Tamale, Ms Rosina Larry, had a shock of her life when she realised to her chagrin that her admission fees she was carrying in her bag had turned into ordinary papers of various designs, after her encounter with a stranger.

The young girl had gone to the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) in Tamale to deposit GH¢20 belonging to a young man, who she claimed had instructed her to deposit the money into an account number he wrote on a paper for her.

However, upon reaching the bank's premises she realised the money, together with her GH¢250 and the account number, had all disappeared.

In their place were ordinary papers of various designs folded in the same manner as the money.

She suddenly broke down in tears, which attracted other customers of the bank and passers-by, who stopped to listen and empathise with her.

The young girl told the police in Tamale that she had set off from Goaso in the Brong Ahafo Region last Wednesday to Sunyani en route to Tamale, where she would pursue her senior high school education, after being admitted to NOBISCO.

“I got to the station in Sunyani at night and therefore decided to sleep at the station and take-off the next day,” she narrated, while sobbing heavily.

Rosina said while at the Motor Union station, she developed some stomach upset and approached a young man, who she had not met before, to direct her to a drug store.

However, the young man, after giving her the direction, proceeded to hand her a GH¢20 note and an account number to her and instructed her to deposit the money into that account at the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) when she got to Tamale the next day.

“I took the money and added it to my admission fees, which was in my school bag,” she explained.

Rosina arrived in Tamale the next day only to discover to her utter dismay that her admission fees of GH¢250 together with the young man's GH¢20 had all disappeared and in their place were the papers.

At the compound of ADB in Tamale, where she became aware of her predicament, many residents of Tamale gathered around to console her and also wondered how that could have happened.

The police officer who took down the victim's statement, Corporal Joseph Asante, told the Daily Graphic that the police would prepare a police extract on the case to be given to the authorities of NOBISCO to enable them to decide the fate of the young girl, since it was her admission fees that was lost.

“We would then proceed to prepare a report on it and undertake some investigations,” he added.

Story by Salifu Mohammed Nurudeen.