A Tamale Circuit Court in the Northern Region has convicted
40 ECOWAS nationals on their own plea, for illegal mining. The Presiding
Judge, Senyo Amedehe ordered the confiscation of their mining equipment
and their immediate repatriation after paying the fines. In all, 45 of the
convicts including Malians, Guineans and some from Burkina Faso were arrested
in Bole by officials of the Northern Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration
Service. At the second court sitting, they were remanded for two weeks and
granted bail. On count three, the convicts were charged 55 penalty units for
engaging in illegal mining activities in the Bole area and in default, they
will serve 14 months imprisonment. Assistant Director of Immigration in charge
of the Northern Region, Eric Afari, after the court sitting in an interview
with Citi News, warned that his administration will intensify its patrols to
flush out ECOWAS nationals in the region who are flouting the country’s laws
with impunity. Mr. Afari said his officers have mounted 24/7 surveillance at
all the 13 unapproved entry points from neighboring countries into the region. He
however complained of logistics needed to improve their efficiency. Both
the Guinean and Malian Chancellors to Ghana attended the court sitting and made
frantic efforts to pay the fines to fast track the repatriation exercise.
Source: GW
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