Gifty Oware trial: 63,673 ‘ghost names’ received allowances for no work – Investigator

A prosecution witness in the trial of former National Service Authority Deputy Executive Director Gifty Oware told the court that 63,673 “faceless names” received allowances without doing any work.

Detective Sergeant Collins Woode, a BNI investigator, said a forensic analysis of the authority’s Central Management System uncovered the payments during the 2023 and 2024 service periods.

Testifying as the fourth prosecution witness, he said the names were part of a list the accused submitted to the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to process monthly payments.

Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, the investigator explained that his team retrieved and analysed the authority’s database.

The system validates and enrols national service personnel and generates payroll for allowance payments.

“We had already done an analysis of the whole central management system and found out that 63,673 faceless names were found in the central management system to have received allowances for no work done,” he told the court.

Detective Sergeant Woode said the names had no verifiable identities but consistently received allowances through ADB.

Using spreadsheets and other documents projected in court, he took the court through the team’s findings. The documents formed part of the exhibits attached to his witness statement.

He testified that investigators traced the payment list submitted to the bank to the accused. He further said the forensic analysis established a direct link between inserting the names into the system and processing the payment vouchers.

The trial is expected to continue with the defence cross-examining the investigator.