Nigerian woman jailed in Ghana for passport forgery
A Ghanaian court has sentenced Franca Wilson, a 41-year-old Nigerian welder, to six months in prison for attempting to obtain a Ghanaian passport using forged documents. The Ghana Immigration Service confirmed her conviction after she pleaded guilty to the charges. Investigations revealed that Wilson submitted false nationality claims and a forged birth certificate. The case highlights ongoing issues with identity-related crimes involving Nigerians in Ghana.
What happened
- Franca Wilson was arrested on April 24, 2026, at the Accra Passport Application Centre after inconsistencies were found in her nationality documents.
- She pleaded guilty before the Adabraka District Court in Accra on May 12, 2026, and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment with hard labour on three counts, to run concurrently.
- Investigators discovered she is a Nigerian citizen from Rivers State, not Ghana as she claimed.
- Wilson allegedly submitted a forged birth certificate stating she was born in Somanya to a Ghanaian mother but could not provide credible information about her supposed Ghanaian parent.
- In December 2025, two other Nigerians, Ike Isaac and Emmanuel Egbe, were sentenced to 12 months in prison each by a Ghanaian court for attempting to obtain Ghana Cards with false identities.
