Three people including a former Reverend Father of the St Theresa Catholic Church at Kaneshie, Accra, on Monday, December 23, 2019, appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with alleged abetment of crime, forgery and altering of documents.
They are John Kwaku Quarshie, a mechanic, Francois Kofigah, a contractor and Peter Kofi Atsu, a Catholic Priest.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and were granted GH¢10,000 bail each with sureties by the court presided over by Abena Abrokwa Doko.
The Prosecutor, Police Chief Inspector Simon Apiorsonu, urged the court to order the fourth accused, Somtim Tobiga, a private legal practitioner to be taken to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters to be properly charged and arraigned on January 28, 2020.
Narrating the facts, Chief Inspector Apiorsonu said Messrs Quarshie, Kofigah and Atsu allegedly forged a Will purported to have been authored by the late Kofigah Atanley Komla, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Kofa Company.
He said Quarshie and Kofigah were relatives of the Kofigah Family of Agbozume in the Volta Region.
Chief Inspector Apiorsonu told the court that the late Kofigah died on September 5, 2009, and left behind two wives and 21 children including Francois Kofigah.
According to him after the burial and funeral of the late Kofigah, the family was told the deceased died intestate and that arrangements had been put in place to share his estate to the family.
The prosecutor stated that the family subsequently received a letter to appear before the High Court and on February 5, 2010 for the will to be read to the family in court.
The prosecutor said that Francois, Madam Sophia Obuobi, the mother of Francois and Muda Eliason, a brother of the deceased were the executors.
Chief Inspector Apiorsonu said upon careful perusal of the document, the complainant detected that the signature of his father had been forged and rejected the document.
He said the complainant filed a motion to challenge the authenticity of the will and the court ruled that the will was null and void.
The prosecutor said investigations later revealed that it was Tobiga who drafted the will.
He indicated that Quarshie and Francois were later arrested as it came to light during investigation that the accused used the forged Will in an attempt to secure a probate at the High Court.
Chief Inspector Apiorsonu said Quarshie told the police that in September, 2009, his late uncle invited him and Eliason Muda to his room at Tesano in Accra and told them he has made them executors of his Will but did not disclose its contents to him.
The prosecutor told the court that Reverend Father Atsu said the late Kofigah asked him (Atsu) to be one of his executors because of their friendship and that the deceased used to fellowship at St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Kaneshie between 1992 to 1999.
Chief Inspector Apiorsonu stated that an examination of specimen signatures on the purported will together with documents signed by the deceased at the Forensic Science Laboratory revealed that the signature on the will was forged.
It also came to light the prosecutor said that the signature of Quarshie is the same as the one on the will.
The case stands adjourned.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA