One of the four Yemen nationals who are currently in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) for allegedly possessing fake passports has been acquitted and discharged by an Accra Circuit Court.
The accused, Gaafar Eissa Yahya Amer, also known as Ciro Carlos, a businessman was thus, yesterday handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) to determine his fate because the court has no sufficient evidence against him.
Gaafar Eissa Yahya Amer was said to have entered into the country without an entry visa, even though he was with a genuine passport, it turned out after investigations that he travelled several times to Djibouti before his trip to Ghana.
The court presided over by Mr. Aboagye Tandoh, in his ruling, acquitted and discharged Gaafar Eissa Yahya Amer.
Mr. Aboagye told the court that, in respect to count 7 per regulatory 2001 under the Emergency Entry Visa, “A foreign national who seeks to enter Ghana and who appears before an immigration officer without a visa shall in accordance with section 4(3) and 4(4) of the Act be granted emergency visa if the immigration officer is satisfied that the foreign national:
1. “If the person is not a prohibited immigrant in possession of a valid passport or travel document;
2. is proceeding from a country where Ghana has no diplomatic mission or consulate; or where Ghana has a representative, but the entry into the Ghana is being sought for an emergency assignment;
3. if the person has had an application for emergency visa filed on the foreign national’s behalf by that national’s host with the Director of Immigration indicating personal details including nationality, place of residence in Ghana, occupation or business to be followed or undertaken while in Ghana”.
Continuing, he noted “Even though Gaafar Eissa is in Ghana, he is not in Ghana”, adding that “although you are acquitted and discharged, you are not allowed to walk about, that is why I have left it to the discretion of the immigration Directors to initiate and deal with the accused,” he noted.
“Again, I will first of all deal with Esmail Yahya Zeyad, Waleed Ahmed Yahya and Eissa Yahya. The court’s consideration of the evidence adduced by the prosecution and the exhibits tendered by the authority cited a case is made against them,” he noted.
The three suspects, who are said to be students, are to reappear before the court on April 12, 2016.
Counsel for the accused person, Barrister Owusu Sekyere in an interview with this paper hinted that, in respect of the fourth accused person, who is a businessman came to Ghana without an entry visa, but with a genuine passport.
He added that the prosecution has not been able to adduce enough evidence for him to come and answer, and therefore he has been sent back to GIS for them to determine his fate adding that, whether to deport or grant him an entry visa.
According to him, plans are underway in respect of their plea, “Though we pleaded not guilty, looking at the circumstances now, we are thinking of changing our plea and if we are fined then we would go back to where we came from”.
The accused persons are said to have concealed their Yemeni identities and feigned French nationalities in an attempt to beat security personnel at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra.
The accused persons were arrested by the BNI in November with different names in their French passports. They arrived at KIA on board Ethiopian Airline Flight ET 920.
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