Press Release
 |
| Olubunmo Olalekan (Pic: EFCC Media/Publicity Unit) |
A deadly syndicate of fraudsters who virtually opened an office for the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Akure, the Ondo State capital, from
where they dispatch fake invitation letters to unsuspecting heads of government
agencies purporting to be carrying out investigation activities against them,
has been uncovered.
The kingpin of the syndicate, one Olubunmo Olalekan, who is
currently in EFCC custody in Abuja, was arrested by operatives of the
Department of State Service, DSS, and handed over to the Commission.
At the point of arrest, Olalekan who parades himself as a Principal
Detective Superintendent of the EFCC, had in his possession fake letter head
papers of the Commission, 30 GSM sim cards, assorted complimentary cards, a
laptop computer and printer from where he churns out the fraudulent invitation
letters.
His modus operandi is to send out the bulk invitation letters to
as many agencies as possible, via courier, claiming to have pending petitions
alleging corruption against their heads.
Investigations so far revealed that the suspect has written and
distributed over sixty letters purportedly from the Commission to
several top officials of ministries, department and agencies.
Among them
are the chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Ibadan; Managing
Director, NPDC Limited, Sapele Road, Benin City; Professor Idowu Odeyemi,
Provost Nigerian Institute of Mining and Geosciences, Jos; Managing Director/Chief
Executive Office, Jebba Hydro Electric Plc, Jebba, Niger State; Medical
Director, National Obstetric Fistula Centre, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; Dr. Iyela
Ajayi, Provost Federal College of Education, Okene, Kogi State and a host of
others.
He would leave a GSM number in the letters asking the agency heads to
contact a PDS Adeniyi. Those who fall for the scam are asked to pay money for
the purported case against them to be dropped. The syndicate had gone to the
extent of issuing clearance letters to those that met their terms.
But some heads of agencies that are sure they had done nothing untoward
to warrant investigation by the EFCC have been bold to contact the Commission,
which was how Olalekan was nabbed.
Dr. Asunyikanmu Pius, director of Technical Aids Corps, Abuja was
one of the agency heads targeted by the scammer. But once he received the
invitation letter with instruction to contact a PDS Adeniyi, Dr. Pius alerted
the Commission.
He was encouraged to play along and consequently paid the sum
of N2 million into an Access Bank Account as demanded by the suspect to throw
the case. A sting operation was planned, but Olalekan was arrested by men of
the DSS before he could draw the money.
Investigation so far revealed that the suspect who operates from his
home in Shagari Extension, Akure, Ondo State has obtained millions of naira
from victims who were willing to pay his price to escape the ordeal of a
phantom investigation. Unknown to them, they had enriched a fraudster.
Olalekan is not the lone player in this scheme of trickery. His two
accomplices, a certain Ahaji Yero and one Mr Bako are currently at large even
as the EFCC launches a massive manhunt to bring them to justice.
Olalekan’s arrest represents a major breakthrough in the effort of the
EFCC to break the ring of fraudsters that specializes in impersonating
officials of the agency to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.
The Commission has repeatedly warned members of the public to be wary of
invitation letters purportedly emanating from the agency with instructions to
contact any supposed official through a GSM line.
No authentic EFCC invitation letter will request anybody to contact an
official by telephone. Rather, you are asked to report at an EFCC office to be
interviewed by a designated officer.
Members of the public are encouraged to report any suspicious invitation
to the Commission’s Department of Internal Affairs by email:
DIA@EFCCNIGERIA.ORG
or call this number: 09- 9044758 between 8am and 5pm weekdays only.
Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media & Publicity
No comments:
Post a Comment