The names of some high profile Nigerians have been used in duping unsuspecting Nigerians seeking political appointments, contracts and employment by a syndicate.
This was revealed on Tuesday by the police, which paraded some of those already arrested.
Among the high profile Nigerians whose names were used for the crime were former Governor of Lagos State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki; the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi; and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.
Others are the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; the National Security Adviser, Babagana Moguno; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; and the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun.
The fraudsters are said to be specialists in cloning the phone numbers of ministers, politicians and aides to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Those arrested and paraded were said to be Chief Ovie Ogogo, 47; Abdulazeez Eragbe, 40; Babatunde Oshamoto, 49; Samuel Idah, 25.
Fourteen phones with SIM cards allegedly registered with names of top government officials were reportedly recovered from the suspects.
They were arrested by operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team, led by ACP Abba Kyari, at a hotel in Kaduna State on Tuesday, after receiving complaints from some victims.
The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Jimoh Ibrahim, who paraded the suspects, said: “All the suspects confessed to the crime admitting to have impersonated several prominent citizens and made over N20 million from their criminal acts within the last six months before they were arrested:
“Chief Ovie Ogo further confessed that he posed as the National Security Adviser and collected N13 million from a Ghanaian who wants to get an oil block in Nigeria.
“The gang also posed as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and collected N4 million from one man, name withheld, who is seeking for federal appointment.
“They equally posed as Chief of Staff to the President and collected N2.5 million from another individual, who is looking for contract.
“The suspects again posed as the Chief of Staff to the President and collected N700,000 from one young man, name withheld, who is also seeking for federal appointment.
“Investigation is being intensified to arrest the other suspects at large while those arrested will be charged to court on completion of investigation.
“The general public is advised to be careful and verify the identity of whosoever they may wish to transact business or relate with.”
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