A man posing as a military officer has been dragged before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly defrauding a lawyer of GH₵192,000 in a bogus land protection deal.
The accused, Mahama Saani Razak — who also goes by the name Major Zack Gariba Tanko — is said to have falsely claimed he was a Major in the Ghana Armed Forces and promised to deploy junior military personnel to secure a parcel of land at Kwabenya from land guards.
However, police investigations later revealed that Razak has no affiliation with the military.
He is facing charges of defrauding by false pretence, while he and his wife, Hudu Fatimata Neina, are jointly charged with conspiracy to commit a crime. Both have pleaded not guilty.
The court, presided over by Mrs. Evelyn Asamoah, has granted them bail of GH₵300,000 each, with two sureties justified by moveable property. The prosecution has been directed to file all disclosures and witness statements by July 30, 2025, with the case adjourned to August 8, 2025.
How It Allegedly Happened
Chief Inspector Ebenezer Teye Okuffo told the court that the complainant, a lawyer based in North Legon, was introduced to Razak in March 2025 by a friend who claimed Razak was in the military.
Razak allegedly took the complainant to Burma Camp and introduced himself as a Military Police officer with the rank of Major. He then offered to use junior officers to “ward off” any landguards from the lawyer’s property.
Trusting his identity, the complainant paid GH₵192,000 through mobile money transfers to numbers registered to Razak’s wife, Hudu, and two others: Abdul-Aziz Alhassan and Isaaka Dogoma.
But the so-called military protection never happened — and the accused allegedly went into hiding.
The complainant later confirmed with the Ghana Armed Forces that Razak was not a military officer and subsequently filed a police report.
During police questioning, Razak denied all claims. His wife, however, admitted to receiving money on his behalf but said she only withdrew the funds and handed them over to him.
