The Circuit Court in Accra has remanded two men accused of defrauding a woman of about GH¢800,000 under the pretext of providing spiritual assistance to avert alleged attacks.
Bilyaminu Ibrahim, 28, a media worker, and Mohammed Musah, 25, a journalist, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud by false pretence, defrauding by false pretence and harbouring a criminal, respectively. The court remanded them until October 20, 2026.
Chief Inspector Ramatu Asumah is handling the prosecution. The third accused, Jabiru Katakaraou, is currently at large.
According to the prosecution, Ibrahim and Musah are employees of Katakaraou’s Assobaya Media School at Dodowa, while Katakaraou is a cousin of the complainant and the alleged victim.
The prosecution said the alleged fraud began in 2021 after Katakaraou was informed that the victim, who resides in the United States, was experiencing personal challenges. It said Katakaraou and Ibrahim allegedly devised a plan to obtain money from the victim by falsely presenting Ibrahim as a spiritualist, or mallam, who could resolve her problems.
According to the prosecution, the two allegedly collected about GH¢800,000 from the victim in several instalments for purported spiritual activities and sacrifices.
The prosecution said the accused allegedly told the victim that her sister and deceased mother were responsible for her problems and advised her to stop communicating with them. The victim allegedly complied with the advice.
The prosecution further alleged that Ibrahim and Katakaraou later told the victim that her late father had been indebted to an unknown man who intended to haunt her spiritually.
They allegedly collected more money from her, claiming it would be used for Quran recitals and other spiritual activities to protect her.
In 2023, the prosecution said, Katakaraou learned that the complainant’s mother had suffered a stroke. He allegedly informed Ibrahim, after which they told the victim that someone was attempting to inflict her with a stroke.
They allegedly demanded and received additional money, claiming they would provide spiritual protection and redirect the alleged attack to its sender.
The prosecution said the two later informed the victim that the complainant’s mother had suffered a stroke and claimed that they had successfully redirected the illness to her.
They allegedly received further money as appreciation for the purported spiritual intervention. The matter was eventually reported to the police after attempts by family elders to resolve the issue failed.
A1 allegedly admits false representation
During investigations, Ibrahim was arrested and allegedly admitted to police that he had falsely represented himself to the victim as a spiritualist and collected money from her.
The police reportedly recovered GH¢49,000 from him. Katakaraou allegedly fled to Togo after learning of Ibrahim’s arrest. Ibrahim was subsequently granted bail while the police continued efforts to locate Katakaraou.
The prosecution said that in September 2026, the police received information that Katakaraou had returned to his residence at Dodowa, where he stayed with Ibrahim and Musah.
On October 1, 2026, police officers went to Katakaraou’s residence but met Musah in the neighbourhood. Musah allegedly told the officers that Katakaraou had gone out and subsequently led them to the house, where the suspect was not found.
The prosecution said Musah then sent a text message to Katakaraou stating: “Don’t come house.” He was arrested and, in his statement to the police, allegedly admitted sending the message because he did not want Katakaraou to be arrested.
Musah has, therefore, been charged with harbouring a criminal, contrary to Section 25 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).The court has adjourned the case to October 20, 2026, while police investigations continue.
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