By: Kenneth Appiah Bani
A prosecution witness has told the court that 63,673 people with no verifiable identities received National Service allowances despite not performing any service work.
Detective Sergeant Collins Woode, an investigator with the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), disclosed this during his testimony in the ongoing trial of former National Service Authority (NSA) Deputy Executive Director Gifty Oware.
According to him, a forensic analysis of the Authority’s Central Management System uncovered the alleged payments during the 2023 and 2024 national service periods.
Detective Sergeant Woode was the fourth prosecution witness in the case. Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, he told the court that the names appeared on a list allegedly submitted by Oware to the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) for the processing of monthly allowance payments.
He explained that investigators retrieved and analysed the Authority’s database, which is responsible for validating and enrolling national service personnel and generating payroll information for allowance payments.
“We had already done an analysis of the whole central management system and found out that 63,673 faceless names were found in the central management system to have received allowances for no work done,” Woode told the court.
He further stated that the names had no verifiable identities but repeatedly received allowances through ADB.
Using spreadsheets and other documents projected in court, the investigator presented the findings of the forensic examination. The documents were also included among the exhibits attached to his witness statement.
Detective Sergeant Woode further testified that investigators traced the payment list submitted to the bank to Oware.
He said the forensic analysis established a link between the insertion of the names into the Central Management System and the subsequent processing of payment vouchers.
The testimony forms part of the prosecution’s evidence in the case against the former deputy executive director over alleged irregularities involving the National Service Authority’s allowance payment system.
The defence is expected to cross-examine Detective Sergeant Woode as the trial continues.
