From Abuja

• Syndicate Defrauds American Of $850,000

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Port Harcourt Zonal office, has arrested an impostor who has been using the name of its chairman to harass and bigwigs at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for bribes to ‘kill’ phantom corruption investigations.  

A statement by the agency’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed that Robert Swem Terfa was arrested in Juanita Hotel, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he was holding a meeting with some NDDC Directors, with a phony offer to remove their names from the list of individuals being investigated by EFCC.  

Uwujaren alleged that the impostor contacted the Directors, claiming to be representing the EFCC Chairman. 

He reminded them of the forensic audit of NDDC accounts ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari, and assured them that their names would be removed from it.

Terfa would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

In a related development, a daring syndicate of Internet ‘fraudsters,’ which used a cloned document of the Commission, as well as forged signature of Magu to defraud an American lady, has met its waterloo.

The four-man gang was nabbed last Friday in a coordinated operation in Delta State by the Commission’s Benin Zonal office.

The suspects are Onoghere Romina (aka Pastor Joseph Romeo), Emoregan Fidelis Kelly (aka Williams Brian), Sunday Obi (aka Stuart Symington) and Remember Akpobome. The quartet was arrested sequel to intelligence obtained from their victim, Patricia Dewan Walker, a 60-year-old American.

They are alleged to have defrauded Walker of an aggregate sum of $850,000 in dating scam. The syndicate started milking Walker in 2014, when they defrauded her of $375,163.63.

To further hoodwink Walker to part with more money, the syndicate in 2017 forwarded forged documents and letters, including a fake letter of guarantee from the EFCC and purportedly signed by the Chairman, Ibrahim Magu and one Yomi Balogun, whom they claimed was the Head of Operations, Lagos.  

In the said letter, the syndicate told their victim to pay $157,000 in order to receive “your consignment boxes in our custody of $10m and another $3m deposited in our office few days ago by OFAC.”

Items recovered from the suspects include forged documents, including ‘Payment Guarantee’ from the Office of the President of Nigeria and mobile phones. 

The suspects have confessed to the crime and will be charged to court as soon as investigations are completed.

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