The Delta State Police Command has arrested three men for allegedly defrauding a community leader of N5.475 million under the guise of helping him secure the position of president-general of his community.
The suspects allegedly impersonated prominent government officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and officials of the Delta State Government to convince the victim that they could facilitate his appointment.
The Police Public Relations Officer in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday, adding that detectives attached to the Area Command in Effurun arrested the suspects following an investigation.
The suspects were identified as Aghogho Okpogbodu, 51; Moses Exist, 48; and Benjamin Owah, 49.
According to the police, the suspects allegedly used SIM cards associated with the identities of prominent public officials and a caller-identification application to make their calls appear to originate from the officials they impersonated.
The statement said, “In one of the cases, the suspects allegedly defrauded a community leader from Otu-Jeremi of the sum of ₦5,475,000 under the pretext of facilitating his appointment as President-General of his community.”
The police added that a search of the suspects’ premises led to the recovery of seven mobile phones, 17 SIM cards, 12 ATM cards bearing different names, a Point-of-Sale terminal and documents containing financial and identification details belonging to various individuals.
The command said investigations were ongoing to identify other potential victims and establish whether additional individuals were involved in the alleged fraud.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Samuel Erale, cautioned residents against relying solely on caller-identification applications to establish the identity of people contacting them, particularly when financial transactions or promises of government appointments were involved.
He also urged members of the public who might have been defrauded by the suspects or encountered similar schemes to provide credible information to assist the ongoing investigation.
The police command reiterated its commitment to combating fraud and ensuring that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
