By SKS
Two surveyors appeared in court yesterday to face charges of forging NRA survey bill receipts, with the Deputy Director of Lands testifying that the documents in question were unlawfully fabricated.
The accused persons (surveyors) Ahmed Mansaray, 39, Maligie Kanu, 33, both surveyors, appeared before Magistrate Augustine Brima Samura at Pademba Road Court No. 8 to face seven charges, including conspiracy to commit a crime, forgery, and uttering forged documents.
According to the particulars of the case, the offenses allegedly occurred between June 10th and June 12th, 2025, at Youyi Building, Brookfields, Western Area, Freetown. The accused are accused of conspiring with unidentified persons to commit forgery, specifically forging NRA survey bill receipts with the intent to defraud.
The charges specify that on June 12th, 2025, the accused forged three NRA survey bill receipts, indicating payments of fifty-three Leones each, purporting to be paid by Isatu Isha Dumbuya, with plan and LS numbers NA 35205, NA 34125, and NA 32201. They are also charged with knowingly and fraudulently uttering these forged documents at the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning.
When the charges were read, the accused pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Joan M. S. Bull and Detective Police Constable Joseph Lamin Dumbuya, called their first witness, Abraham Cooper, Deputy Director of Surveys at the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Country Planning.
Cooper testified that on June 10th, 2025, he was on duty when the first accused submitted three survey plans with attachments through an assistant. The witness observed that the NRA receipts accompanying the plans lacked OTP (One-Time Password) numbers, which are essential for authenticity. He further identified the receipts as not genuine and confirmed that the accused persons admitted that the second accused issued them.
The witness stated that the receipts, bearing dates of March 24th and 25th, 2025, were taken into custody and have been kept in the ministry’s custody. He explained that the documents were handed over to the Environmental Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
During the proceedings, the defence objected to the tendering of the receipts, arguing that the witness was not the rightful custodian of the documents and that proper foundation had not been laid for their admission. The prosecution countered that the witness, as Deputy Director of Surveys, was authorized to identify and tender documents in his custody, and that the documents had been in his lawful possession.
Magistrate Samura ruled that the receipts could be tendered by the witness, as he was the custodian of the documents, and that their custody was established through lawful means. The magistrate noted that the documents were in the ministry’s custody during the investigation and that they could be properly tendered as part of the court record.
The survey plans and related documents were formally admitted into evidence. The prosecution reported that they had also handed over the accused to the Environmental Crime Unit for further investigation.
The court refused bail for the accused and remanded them at the male correctional facility in Freetown. The matter was adjourned to July 17th, 2025, to allow for the tendering of the original survey plans in court.
