Passport Scam: Nigerian Woman Jailed in Ghana for Document Forgery

A Ghanaian court has sentenced a Nigerian woman, Franca Wilson, to six months imprisonment for attempting to obtain a Ghanaian passport using forged nationality documents.

Wilson, a 41-year-old welder, was found guilty after she pleaded guilty before the Adabraka District Court in Accra on May 12, 2026.

She was sentenced on Wednesday, May 20, to six months imprisonment with hard labour on three counts, with all sentences ordered to run concurrently.

According to a report by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, which cited the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Wilson was arrested on April 24, 2026, at the Accra Passport Application Centre after immigration officers detected inconsistencies in her nationality claims during screening.

Following her arrest, she was handed over to the National Enforcement Department of the GIS Headquarters for further investigation.

Investigators later established that Wilson is a Nigerian citizen originally from Rivers State, born to Nigerian parents.

However, she allegedly submitted a forged birth certificate claiming she was born in Somanya in Ghana’s Eastern Region to a Ghanaian mother.

The Ghana Immigration Service said she was unable to provide credible information or evidence regarding the alleged Ghanaian parent during interrogation.

Authorities say the conviction underscores ongoing efforts to clamp down on document fraud and immigration-related offences in Ghana.