EFCC
Press Release
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
17th October, 2014
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