The Office of the Attorney has taken over the trial of a private legal practitioner, Joseph Kwow Addo Sam, who has been dragged before the Achimota Circuit Court together with three siblings for allegedly forging a Will.
Dominic Bakoma, a Principal State Attorney has told the court that the Office will be prosecuting the case instead of the police, following a petition from the complainant, Idris Salia.
The trial court presided over Akosua Anokyewaa Adjepong and has therefore given the state attorney up to March 11, 2025, to study the case docket and file all necessary documents needed for the trial before the next court sitting.
The 52-year-old lawyer has been charged together with four others with four counts of conspiracy, forgery of official documents, altering of official documents, and perjury to which they pleaded not guilty.
He was granted a bail of GH¢200,000 by the court and is to produce three sureties, one of whom must be a public servant earning not less than GH¢3,000 and residing in Accra.
The other accused persons include Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba, said to be the Chief of Banda in Accra, Abdul Salia alias Abdullai Salia Junior, Abubakar Salia, and Saeed Salia, who are siblings.
Prosecution’s Brief Facts
Court documents named the complainant as Idriss Salia who is a brother to Abdulai Salia, Abubakar Salia, and Saeed Salia.
The facts presented by ASP Isaac Babayi indicate that after the death of their father Alhaji Salia Abdulai on June 23, 2021, a document purporting to be the last Will of the deceased emerged and was deposited at the registry of the High Court on May 7, 2024.
The said Will was allegedly witnessed by Tony Kenyin Foli (now deceased) and Alhaji Seidu Adam Baba.
The Prosecutor said the complainant became suspicious when he obtained a copy of the said Will and conducted his private checks and found out that his late father Alhaji Salia Abdullai and the late Tony Kenyin Foli’s signatures on the said Will had been forged and he petitioned the Director-General of CID for investigation.
A certified true copy of the said Will was obtained from the Registrar, High Court (Probate Division), and the Police also obtained from the Regional Police Headquarters/CID a copy of a statement of Tony Kenyin Foli, previously submitted, whose name appeared on the said Will as a witness.
The investigation was extended to the Ecobank, Ghana Commercial Bank, and the Registrar General Department where signature samples of the late Alhaji Salia Abdullai were obtained.
“Both undisputed signature samples of the late Alhaji Salia Abdullai and the late Tony Kenyin Foli, together with the disputed signature samples on the purported Will were sent to the Comptroller General, Ghana Immigration Service Forensic Department, and Spotlight Security Solution, for forensic examination.”
The facts said investigations revealed that the disputed signatures on the purported Will and probate form were not authored by the named persons.
It was established that the accused lawyer conspired with the other accused persons to prepare the forged Will of the late Alhaji Salia Abdulai and Chief Alhaji Seidu Adams Baba signed as a witness for it to be believed as a true document.
“Upon the preparation of the said Will, they presented same at the High Court Registry together with a Probate form,” the facts pointed out.
On November 11, 2021, the three accused children of the late Alhaji Abdulai applied to the High Court 2, Accra for a grant of Probate based on the forged Will, and the complainant who was suspicious of the Will petitioned the Police.
Joseph Kwow Addo Sam was arrested and in his investigation caution statement to the police, he admitted that he prepared the last Will of the late Alhaji Salai Abdullai and deposited same at the Registry of the High Court, on May 7, 2004.
Alhaji Seidu Adam Baba was also arrested and he refused to give a statement to the Police.
Abubakar Salia and Saeed Salia signed the probate form which was procured through fraud.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak