Suspect impersonates anti graft operative, use agency premises for heist in Nigeria

Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, in Nigeria says it has arrested a daredevil swindler who not only impersonated its operative but also attempted to use its Ilorin zonal command premises as ‘base of operation’ to swindle a relatively of two suspects in its custody.

Akogun Rasheed Usman, the said suspect, looks every bit like the Nigerian version of the regular Joe; a librarian at the state owned Oro College of Education in Kwara.

But for her quick wit, Mrs. Khadizah Abdullahi, would have fallen victim of Usman’s trickery.

Mrs Abdullahi has two of her sons in EFCC custody over undisclosed offenses.

According reports by the commission, Usman approached Mrs Abdullahi as an operative of EFCC, promising that he could facilitate the release of her sons for a fee.

An initial payment of N500, 000 was obtained from her by the suspect.

According to depositions made by Mrs Abdullahi to the EFCC, she became agitated when the suspect failed to have her two sons held in custody by the EFCC released on bail to her as promised.

“Firstly, she said Akogun and her went through the same security screening while at the EFCC office, a situation that made her wonder why it should be so if truly he was an officer of the Commission as he claimed.

“She also noticed that while in the EFCC office to perfect the ‘phony bail’, the self-styled EFCC staff neither receive nor give salute or compliments to fellow officers as compliments is a tradition in all security and law enforcement agencies, especially in Nigeria.

“She added that rather than have her sons released to her, the suspects took her to a location outside the office to receive the said sum of N500,000 and demanded for more money to perfect the bail,” explained an EFCC report on the matter.

Suspect presented before the media in Ilorin, Kwara, Nigeria.

Mrs Abdullahi had then had to make an official report on the matter.

“It was in the process of collecting additional N200,000 that the long arm of the law caught up with him,” EFCC said.

Acting on her complaint and corroborated by inhouse Intel on such activities in Babanla area, of the state, the commission set up a sting operation that snarled the suspect on Thursday, March 27, 2024 at the General Hospital, Taiwo-Oke area, Ilorin.

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