A resident of Tse Addo, Cocoa Street in Accra, Ms Maryam Sulaiman, has lodged a complaint of assault against the Tema Passport Office after she was allegedly assaulted by officers during a vetting process to renew her passport.
Officers at the vetting stage allegedly doubted her nationality because she did not speak any southern language except Hausa, jumped on her and physically assaulted her.
A written statement to the police indicated that she visited the Passport Office at Tema last week to renew her expired passport.
During the vetting the officers doubted her nationality and asked to call her parents.
However, frustrated by what was going on, she gathered her documents that an officer had thrown away and left after she was refused service.
Ms. Sulemana indicated she was called back and sent to a senior officer under the impression her matter had been resolved after the three hours grilling only to be subjected to another bout of interrogation during which she was coerced to confess she is not a Ghanaian.
“I have been interrogated for more than 3 hours. I was hungry, thirsty, exhausted, dizzy and needed to take my anti depression pill at 12 pm.
“At 2pm, I packed my documents to leave because they concluded that I am not a Ghanaian and that I acquired the passport through illegal ways and the that having a Ghanaian passport does not determine my nationality.
“Even my parents having passports issued since the 70s, which has been renewed until date, still does not certify my nationality. They asked me to confess and they will advise me. At that point the boss got up and was arguing with some staff about my nationality,” she said.
According to her, exhausted and hungry she challenged the officers to either arrest and charge her or they should return her documents and allow her to go and that they cannot be held against her will.
“I left the building but at the entrance a number of officers surrounded me and the boss held me and forcefully dragged me to his office. He seized my documents, phone, my passport, my bag and asked me to sit but I did not comply.
“I snatched my phone and put it inside my bra but the boss furiously attacked me and tried to push his hand into my bra.
“He hit me, kicked me, dragged me on the floor and restrained me. He touched my breast, my thighs and even his penis rubbed me and ordered the lady officers to search me and take my phone and in the process removed my Muslim scarf.”
She indicated the assault left her badly battered and aching all over the body and distressed physically and psychologically.
Ms Suleiman demanded the officers who assaulted her be arrested so that justice would be solved.
Meanwhile, attempts to get the side of the Tema Passport Office have proved futile and it is hoped that the office will respond after this publication.
Background
Ms Maryam Sulaiman, THE CUSTOIDAN gathered was born in Ghana but her parents took her to Saudi Arabia when she was just three months old.
She came to Ghana at age 12 and with her parents being very conservative Muslims, she and her sisters were not allowed to go out or mingle.
Her parents, the paper further gathered, wanted to maintain the Arabian culture and protect their daughters as well.
It was also learnt that whilst Ms Sulaiman was struggling to learn English as an adult, she could not pick any Ghanaian language any more.
Even though she stayed in Tamale for almost two years, she could not speak Dagbani. She also stayed in Turkey for over one year but cannot speak Turkish.
