Six people have been found guilty by the High Court in Tamale for participating in a payroll corruption scheme that used fictitious names and fraudulent salary payments to defraud the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The Office of the Special Prosecutor’s (OSP) plea bargaining framework, which facilitated full restitution and reparations to the State, was used to secure the convictions.
It was discovered that the convicted individuals — including accountants, payroll officers, and school administrators — had unlawfully verified and reactivated the wages of a teacher who had long since left his position.
The individuals found guilty are:
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Tahidu Yakubu, a former teacher at Balogu M/A Junior High School (Balogu JHS) in Yendi.
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Abdulai Abubakar Sadic, the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) Coordinator for the Yendi Municipality.
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Sammy Suuk, the Schools Improvement Support Officer (SISO) for the Yendi North Circuit.
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Mohammed Yusif Jay, former Headmaster of Balogu JHS.
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Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres, an Assistant Chief Account Technician at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department in Accra.
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Osman Issahaku, the current Headmaster of Balogu JHS, responsible for validating teacher salaries at the school.
The OSP claims that as a result of their actions, over GH¢86,000 was improperly disbursed. All of that money has since been recovered. In connection with the case, the OSP has recovered a total of GH¢106,319.64.
According to the OSP, this case is part of a broader, ongoing investigation into payroll-related corruption, and several other suspects are currently under investigation.
The Office stated that as part of its intensified efforts to hold public officials accountable and protect public funds, it now has six additional criminal trials in progress in Accra, Tamale, and Kumasi.
By Najat Adamu
