Ghana authorities detain eight Nigerians after alleged initiation assault tied to online fraud

Eight Nigerian citizens are in police custody in Ghana after allegedly carrying out a violent beating on a 21-year-old fellow Nigerian as an initiation into an online fraud scheme, authorities said. The incident took place at Kotokrom, a community in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region. Investigators say the suspects claimed the attack on Godstime Umukoro was part of the same initiation they themselves had gone through before becoming involved in online fraud. The Bono Regional Police Command made the account public in a statement dated October 9, 2026. According to the police, officers from the Regional Operations Unit arrested the suspects after responding to an emergency call on October 4. The patrol team was alerted around 4:30 p.m. that a group was assaulting a man at Kotokrom, the statement said. When officers arrived, they discovered Umukoro with numerous signs of physical abuse, and the eight suspects were taken into custody at the scene. Police named the suspects as Peter Mbam, 24; Godwin Moses, 26; Humble Oweifah, 18; Osas Ogbemudia, 30; Samuel Aisosa, 22; Ashile Godbess, 24; Alexander Uyuo, 30; and Patrick Romans, 25. Preliminary inquiries, police said, also revealed an alleged online fraud operation involving the suspects and a man identified as Nwachukwu King Augustine, who was described as their chairman. The suspects reportedly were brought to Ghana by Augustine and are accused of using downloaded images of foreign military personnel to trick victims online. They allegedly presented themselves as soldiers deployed to the front line in Yemen and held conversations with targets under that false identity before obtaining money from them, according to police. The proceeds were then said to have been deposited into the account of the person described as their boss. The Bono Regional Police Command praised members of the public for acting quickly and pledged to keep working with residents to fight crime in the region. Police have not said whether the eight suspects have been formally charged in court.