N/R: Six charged with payroll fraud by Special Prosecutor

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has filed charges against six individuals at the Tamale High Court for their alleged involvement in payroll fraud and corruption, leading to significant financial loss to the state.

The accused individuals—Yakubu Tahidu, Abdulai Abukari Sadic, Sammy Suuk, Mohammed Yusif Jay, Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres, and Osman Issahaku—are facing 17 counts of corruption-related offences.

This case stems from a National Security referral, which revealed that Yakubu Tahidu continued to receive salaries as a teacher at Balogu M/A JHS despite leaving the position to work at the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC).

The other five accused are implicated in facilitating or failing to prevent these fraudulent salary payments.

Abdulai Abukari Sadic, Yendi Municipal IPPD Coordinator, and Sammy Suuk, Schools Improvement Support Officer, allegedly enabled the salary validations for Tahidu.

Mohammed Yusif Jay, former headteacher of Balogu M/A JHS, is accused of validating the payments even after his reassignment. Stafford Korletey Azudey-Barres, Assistant Chief Accounts Technician at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, is charged with aiding the processing of the fraudulent payments, while Osman Issahaku, the current headteacher, allegedly continued to validate the irregular salaries.