Nigerian couple in court over illegal biometric registration

By: David Allan Paintsil, Cape Coast
A couple from Niger, who wanted to pull fast one on the Electoral Commission (EC) in the ongoing biometric registration exercise in Cape Coast, has appeared before the local Circuit Court for breaking the electoral laws of Ghana.

The couple, Adamu Mohammed and Munilatu Mohammed, was arraigned before the Circuit Court last Friday by Inspector Okom, for allegedly taking part in the biometric registration exercise as foreigners.

Presenting the facts, Inspector Okom told the court presided over by His Honour Justice Samuel Asare Nyarko that Munilatu, a trader, went to the Pedu registration centre to register, but she was challenged by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) agent at the centre, therefore, her processed identification card was not handed over to her.

She then left Pedu and pitched camp at the Abom registration centre, where she was able to register, but her name appeared at both centres, prompting the NPP agent to report her to the police for double registration. She was arrested at her abode at Kotokuraba Zongo.

On hearing the arrest of his wife, Adamu Mohammed went to police station and told the police that he, as a Nigerien, had registered, and that he did not understand why his wife should be arrested for that offence. Mohammed was, however, arrested and arraigned before the court on a charge of illegal registration.

Based on the assertion of the husband, Munilatu was asked by the court to sign a bond of good behaviour because she was pregnant, and Ghanaian law prohibits the imprisonment of pregnant women, while Mohammed was granted bail to reappear on 3rd May 2012.

A  Cape Coast-based legal practitioner, Halifax Harry Hayford, was defence counsel for the Nigerien couple.