Asikuma: Mr. Peter Yao Nkrumah, Volta Regional Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), has disclosed that officers intercepted a passenger bus carrying suspected irregular migrants at the Asikuma inland checkpoint. He said the Sprinter bus, with registration number GW 8777-18, was stopped with 20 passengers on board, comprising three females and 16 males, most believed to be between 20 and 25 years.
According to Ghana News Agency, preliminary checks revealed that the passengers were of mixed nationalities. "Some claim they are Nigerians, others say they are from Burkina Faso, Togo, and Niger, but their accounts are inconsistent," Mr. Nkrumah stated. He explained that the passengers gave conflicting information regarding their destinations. "Some said they were heading to Madina, others mentioned Abidjan, and some could not clearly state where they were going," he noted.
Mr. Nkrumah said the inconsistencies raised suspicion among officers at the checkpoint. "When you are travelling, you must know your destination and purpose, but in this case, their stories did not add up," he stressed. He indicated that none of the passengers could produce valid travel documents upon request. "They were unable to provide any legitimate documents to justify their movement across borders," he said.
The driver of the vehicle, identified as Nana Yao, denied any knowledge of the passengers beyond picking them up. "He claimed he loaded them at Aflao en route to Elubo and was only conducting his transport business," he explained.