An Accra Circuit Court on Monday, July 3, turned down a bail application of businessman Emmanuel Goodluck Asempa, being held over an alleged GH₵200,000 recruitment scam. 

The accused’s lawyer, Mr Robert Pappoe, prayed the court to admit his client to bail pending trial. 

According to Mr Pappoe, Asempa [accused] has a fixed place of abode and he would avail himself for the trial. 

The Counsel said that the charges preferred against his client were bailable and he had people who would stand as sureties for him. 

When the accused person was asked for his digital address, he said he would have to call home for it. 

The prosecution led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong objected to the grant of bail, saying people from various regions were coming up with various complaints against the accused person. 

Prosecution drew the attention of the court that the issue of recruitment scams was on the rise and same ought to be nibbed in the bud. 

ASP Frimpong, therefore, prayed the court to grant the Police a week adjournment as investigations were ongoing. 

The prosecution informed the court that the accused person’s fixed place of abode was unknown. 

He admitted that the accused person had rights under the constitution to enjoy bail from the court however, the prosecution said the accused person’s rights were subjected to the rights of society. 

The court presided over by Mr Isaac Addo obliged the prosecution and tasked them to speed up their investigations. 

The matter has been adjourned to July 10. 

Asempa is alleged to have collected between GH₵5,000 and GH₵10,000 to enlist 30 victims into security agencies, namely the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, and Ghana National Fire Service. 

The accused allegedly collected the money in the year 2020 from a farmer and a resident of Osu and went into hiding. He was however smoked out on June 14, 2023. 

Charged with defrauding by false pretences, Asempa has pleaded not guilty.