Former PNC General Secretary, Atik Mohammed, has blamed officials of the National Identification Authority (NIA) for failing to alert the security authorities about the resurface of Aisha Huang, the Chinese galamsey kingpin, in Ghana.
Aisha Huang was deported in 2018 from Ghana for committing offences related to illegal mining, popularly called 'galamsey', but in January this year, the woman used the Togo border with a new passport to re-enter the country.
In February 2022, Aisha Huang applied for a new Ghana Card (non-citizen) under a new identity but according to the National Identification Authority, her request was turned down.
However, the NIA official engaging the illegal miner gave her the option of renewing her old details after their system found similar biodata of her registered under the name En Huang in 2014 and 2018.
Reacting during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" programme, Atik Mohammed finds it difficult to understand why the NIA official failed to raise a red flag over Aisha's insistence to change her identity and claims that her date of birth didn't correspond with her original details.
It should have "triggered someone in the NIA to say this is not right and somebody should have alerted the security agencies. This is not normal. How can you, a Chinese, change your name and date of birth? Like these are red flags that should have triggered some action from the person who was involved in this process but they slumbered on this responsibility and gave the woman the opportunity to get her Ghana Card and going with it," he said.
He asked why the Authority didn't report her to the security agencies when they found discrepancies in her details, stressing Aisha would have been arrested earlier than the security officers did.
"On this ocassion, we have to commend the security agencies. They have done exceptionally well," he asserted.
To Atik Mohammed, this Aisha Huang's case reflects the reality in fighting galamsey saying there are local collaborators helping the illegal miners.
"Our collective commitment to the fight against corruption, sometimes, is betrayed by the actions of some individuals...Even if you bring such a person and she does the wrong thing and is deported, you should take a cue from it. If she comes back, you should be careful but they didn't care. They felt that [oh] we can always find our ways around the laws and do what we can to continue to have her in this country."
NIA Statement
“On 26th February 2014, a Chinese woman named HUANG EN registered as a first time applicant for a foreigner identity card at the Foreigner Identification Management System (FIMS) registration centre at Nhyiaeso, Kumasi, in the Ashanti Region (passport attached). Her biometrics were captured and she was issued with a Non-citizen Ghana Card. She subsequently did two more renewals on 31st August 2016 and 8th January 2018, using the same details and Chinese passport number G39575625. Throughout all these registrations her details remained unchanged as below.
Forename: En
Surname: Huang
Date of Birth: 07-Jul-86
Personal ID Number: CHN-010039480-J
Passport Number: G39575625
“On 25th August 2022 at 10:35 am, an incident occurred at the FIMS Registration Centre in Tamale, Northern Region, involving a Chinese national who visited the centre as a first-time applicant with the following details:
Forename: RUIXIA
Surname: HUANG
Date of Birth: 07-Nov-75
Passport Number: EJ5891162
“The registration, however, went into a technical state known as ‘RejectedDueAFIS’, which meant that the biometrics of RUIXIA HUANG possibly matched that of an already existing person in the NIS database. The registration officer therefore sent a request to the technical support team for further investigations. This revealed that, based on the biometrics provided, “RUIXIA HUANG” had previously registered as EN HUANG in the FIMS record under the NIS database. When confronted by the registration officer with this information, she claimed to have changed her name. As per NIA’s normal registration process, EN HUANG was asked to provide an official certified affidavit and a gazette as required by law to support the change of name if the details in the passport with number EJ5891162 were to be used to update her old records.
“EN HUANG was then given the option of waiting to bring in the required documents before her details could be updated or renewed her old registration with her Personal ID Number CHN-010039480-J, without any change in details. She opted to renew with the old details and then go through the affidavit and gazette process after which she would then provide the documents for the update to be done. Her renewed Non-Citizen Ghana Card was then issued to her on 25th August 2022, bearing the details below:
Forename: EN
Surname: HUANG
Date of Birth: 07-Jul-86
Personal ID Number: CHN-010039480-J
“HUANG EN opted to renew with the old details and then go through the affidavit and gazette process later, after which she would then provide the documents for the update to be done. Her renewed Non-Citizen Ghana Card was then issued to her on 25th August 2022, bearing the old details. This card is what is now impugned and trending on social media (Images attached).”
Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |