Operatives of the Nigerian Army have arrested three suspected fraudsters who took advantage of the current insecurity in the country and dubiously obtained a large amount of money from unsuspecting Northern youths on the pretense that they would undergo military training to be security guards in Ondo.
It was gathered that the suspects had written fake command letters to the General Officer Commanding the region, going as far as instructing ‘fake recruits’ to fill a biometric form and send some money so that Identity Cards could be produced for the officers.
It would be recalled that last week, there was tension among residents of Okitipupa as no fewer than 45 youths from the northern part of the country were arrested by men of the Ondo State Security Network, also known as Amotekun Corps.
The youths, conveyed in a truck, were intercepted in front of the Okitipupa Army Barracks at about 10 pm.
Reacting, the chairman, Okitipupa Local Government Area, Mr. Igbekele Akinrinwa, who addressed the people at the scene of the incident, alleged that it was an indigene of the town that had facilitated the travelers trip to the town.
One of the fraudsters who masterminded the act and posed as one Reverend Father Bayo and Folajimi Williams was said to have signed and sent the fake letters to bring in the “new recruits” as security guards.
The suspect, in the video, admitted to have changed his voice at intervals while he spoke with the army officers.
Another suspect identified as Engr. Desmond from Delta State said he graduated from the university 12 years ago and since no job was forthcoming, he decided to settle in the area and start up a POS business. He said the ‘fake reverend father’ came to him and told him his account had a fault and requested for his account number so that people will transfer some funds into it.
It is believed that this was the account the unsuspecting youths who wanted to undergo military training sent money to.
Desmond said he agreed to the proposition because the suspect told him he was renovating his hotel which wasn’t far from his POS shop. He said about N1.3 million was deposited into the account in trenches.
The fraudsters also sent letters, stating that the GOC had approved the mobilization of about 600 men from across the federation to Ondo State.
When the men arrived in Ondo, panic gripped residents of Okitipupa and that was when the Amotekun Corps arrested them and took them to Akure, the state capital.
“The men are mostly northerners who said they wanted to undergo military training in the barracks to be security guards but the commander did not allow them because he did not have a signal to that effect. But since there was no place to keep them in Okitipupa, they have been handed over to Amotekun,” the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Tee-Leo Ikoro, had said.
Watch the video below