3 Men Claiming to Be EFCC Chairman Olukoyede Arrested After Attempting to Scam Prominent Nigerian

3 Men Claiming to Be EFCC Chairman Olukoyede Arrested After Attempting to Scam Prominent Nigerian

  • The EFCC has arrested a four-man syndicate for impersonating its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in a $1 million blackmail scheme
  • The fraudsters targeted former Nigerian Ports Authority MD, Mohammed Bello-Koko, with false claims of an EFCC investigation
  • According to reliable reports, the suspects are in custody and will face charges after further investigations

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a four-member syndicate accused of impersonating the Commission's Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in an elaborate $1 million fraud scheme.

The alleged fraudsters reportedly targeted Mohammed Bello-Koko, the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

Syndicate arrested
Men claiming to be EFCC arrests. Photo credit: EFCC
Source: Twitter

They falsely claimed that Bello-Koko was under investigation by the EFCC for various infractions during his tenure at the NPA.

Fake EFCC Chairman arrested

According to the EFCC, the syndicate attempted to blackmail Bello-Koko, offering him a "soft landing" in exchange for $1 million, or face the threat of arrest and prosecution.

Read also

Nigeria's War on Poverty Gets Boost as PIC Hosts GS-24 Gender Inclusion Summit

Upon receiving intelligence about the activities of the impersonators, the EFCC initiated a covert operation.

Operatives were deployed to engage with the suspects, leading to their successful apprehension.

The suspects are currently in the custody of the EFCC, and will be charged in court upon the completion of investigations.

The EFCC has reiterated its commitment to combating fraud and has warned the public against falling victim to such impersonation schemes.

In a recent development, Legit.ng reported that Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has threatened to ensure that the former governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, is prosecuted and follows the matter to a logical conclusion.

At a press conference at the EFCC headquarters at Jabi in Abuja on Tuesday, April 23, Olukoyede vowed that he would resign as chairman of the anti-graft agency if the former governor escaped prosecution.

Read also

Minimum Wage: NYSC makes move to include Corps Members in implementation of new welfare package

Tinubu finally appoints new EFCC

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, October 12, appointed a new Chairman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede.

This is according to a statement sent to Legit.ng by Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu's special adviser on media and publicity.

Olukoyede's appointment follows the resignation of the suspended EFCC chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Editor) Basit Jamiu is an award-winning journalist and a human interest editor with more than 5 years of experience in the media (Ikeja Bird, Prime Progress, The Movee). He started his journalism career after graduating from Ekiti State University in 2018. He is a 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. He also has professional certificates in Information Management, Technical Writing, Digital Marketing from Google. He can be reached via basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.