A file photo of a kidnapped victim with hands tied
The Ghana Police Service has alleged that an employee of a leading telecommunications company in the country provided their official login credentials to one of the suspects arrested in connection with the kidnapping of two Ghanaian women in Nigeria.
According to the police, the employee, identified as Abdul Mubarak Zakaria, also forwarded a One-Time Password (OTP), used for two-factor authentication, to the suspect, Titus Mba Awuni, a mobile money operator based in Bolgatanga.
This, the police said, enabled the suspect to gain unauthorised access to the telecommunications company’s SIM registration application where they allegedly registered SIM cards using the Ghana Cards of unsuspecting individuals.
These illegally registered SIMs were then sold for GH¢150 each.
“After the interrogation of the suspects, it came to light that suspect Titus Mba Awuni, who is a mobile money agent in Bolgatanga, had links with one Abdul Mubarak Zakaria, an employee of one of the telecommunications companies who has allegedly given him his official login credentials and also forwards a one-time PIN for two factor verification to him which he uses to log into the SIM registration app of the telecom company to register subscriber SIM cards with other people’s Ghana card details without their consent and sell SIM at GH¢150 each,” the Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), DCOP Lydia Donkor, said at a press briefing on May 6, 2025.
The police further indicated that this information came to light during extensive investigations following a statement by another arrested suspect, Alfred Amalbio, who revealed that his Ghana card details as well as those of his brother had been used — without their knowledge — to register SIM cards that were later sold to the Nigerian suspects.
“Police commenced a manhunt for persons in possession of some phone numbers which had featured in the investigation and registered in the names of Bukhari Danladi, Amalbio Alfred Alimatu Salifu and Mahama Mahase Nimate. On 29th April 2025, police arrested suspect Alfred Amalbio who recounted that he was not directly involved in the crime but mentioned one Titus Mba Awuni who had used his Ghana card details and that of his brother, Akolbia Sunday, to register their SIM cards and sold them out to the Nigerians without their consent,” the police said.
DCOP Donkor further said; “On 1st May 2025, the Akwa East Regional Police Intelligence Department arrested four suspects, namely Christian Emeka, 27, Basil Okonkwo, 29, both Nigerians, Titus Mba Awuni, 25 and Amalbio Alfred, 21, both Ghanaians at Bolgatanga and escorted them to the CID Headquarters for further investigation. On 2nd May 2025, personnel from the Headquarters Police Intelligence Department arrested suspect Mahama Mahase Nimate, 33, at Teshie.
“Three suspects, namely Peter Okoye, aged 31, Paulinus Chidokwe, aged 35, and Chinonso Okafor, aged 35, were arrested in Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Nigeria, and the victims rescued from them. At this time, steps have been taken to receive the victims from the Nigeria Police Force.”
Meanwhile, the victims, the police added, have been rescued and are currently in the custody of Nigerian authorities, awaiting transportation back to Ghana to assist with the ongoing investigations.
The victims were reportedly lured by the kidnappers through Facebook accounts where the suspects posed as White men and deceived the unsuspecting women with false marriage proposals.
“Suspects Peter Okoye and Christian Emeka, both Nigerians, indicated to police that they were in Ghana in the year 2019 to work with QNET. They left Ghana for Nigeria in 2020 but Christian Emeka returned to Ghana in June 2024. Peter Okoye, Christian Emeka and Basil Okonkwo are all Nigerians and were into romance scams both in Ghana and in Nigeria. They operate through their Facebook and other social media handles,” DCOP Donkor said.
She expounded that “these suspects met the two victims: Anastasia Baidoo and Evelyn Serwaa Konadu, through their Facebook accounts. Suspects posed as White men who wanted to marry the victims. The two unsuspecting victims became convinced and accepted the marriage proposals. The suspects then lured them to Nigeria and the victims travelled separately but ended up at the same location on the same day on the 22nd of April 2025. On reaching the location in Nigeria at Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Peter Okoye and his two accomplices kidnapped them.”
MAG/AE
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