The Commercial Court in Tamale has granted bail with strict conditions to five of the six accused persons standing trial for offences related to payroll fraud and corruption.
The sixth defendant was absent from court due to short service.
The accused —Yakubu Tahidu, Abdulai Abukari Sadic, Sammy Suuk, Mohammed Yusif Jay, Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres, and Osman Issahaku have pleaded not guilty to all 17 counts of corruption, alleged to have caused financial loss to the state.
As part of the bail conditions, the accused have been ordered to surrender their passports. Those without passports must submit their Ghana Cards. Additionally, each accused person is required to provide two sureties to be justified, one of whom must be a senior public servant.
The case stems from a referral by National Security, which alleges that the first accused person- Yakubu Tahidu, despite no longer being a teacher, continued to receive salaries while employed by another government agency. The remaining persons are accused of either knowingly facilitating or failing to prevent the fraudulent payments.
The case has been adjourned to April 1, 2025.