Fraudsters impersonate Tinubu, Saraki, dupe job seekers of N20m
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Some suspected fraudsters, who specialised in cloning phone
numbers of ministers, politicians and aides to President Muhammadu Buhari, have
been apprehended by the police.
The suspects were identified as Chief Ovie Ogogo, 47;
Abdulazeez Eragbe, 40; Babatunde Oshamoto, 49; and 25-year-old Samuel Idah.
Fourteen phones with SIM cards allegedly registered with
names of top government officials were reportedly recovered from the suspects.
Among those impersonated by the syndicate, according to the
police, are Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; the National Security
Adviser, Babagana Moguno; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibeh
Kachukwu; and the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun.
They were also accused of impersonating a national leader of
the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; the Senate President,
Bukola Saraki; the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi; and the Secretary to
the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
Operatives of the Inspector-General
of Police, led by ACP Abba Kyari, trailed the syndicate to a hotel in Kaduna
State on Tuesday, after receiving complaints from some victims.
A police source disclosed to one of our correspondents that
the suspects impersonated Moguno to collect N13m from a Ghanaian, who wanted to
get an oil block in Nigeria, and posed as Lawal to swindle one Nnamdi Udo of
N4m under false pretences of helping him to get a federal appointment.
“They also posed as the Chief of Staff to the President and
collected N2.5m from one Mr. Bishop, who was looking for a contract, and
another N700,000 from one Shehu Dan Yahaya, who was seeking a federal
appointment.
“Ogogo, a native of Omoku Rivers State, impersonated
prominent citizens from the South-South and South-East; Eragbe impersonated
prominent persons from the North; Oshamoto posed as prominent citizens from the
South-West and North-Central; while Idah supplied them SIM cards registered
with the names of the top government officials.
“They were arrested in a luxury hotel in Kaduna and had
confessed to impersonating several prominent citizens,” the source added.
He said, “Ogogo is their leader; but they mentioned one
Prince Maurice, based in the UK, as their gang leader. Fourteen different phones, several registered
SIM cards, and a diary containing phone numbers of several top government
officials, were recovered from the suspects.
“Ogogo further confessed that they had made over N20m from
their criminal activities within the last six months.”Parading the suspects on Thursday in Abuja, the police
spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, said all the suspects confessed to the crime.
“The four-man
syndicate, led by one ‘High Chief’ Ovie Ogogo, was arrested in a hotel in
Kaduna State. All the suspects confessed to the crime and admitted to have
impersonated several prominent citizens and made over N20m within the last six
months.”
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