By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested one Akogun Rasheed Usman, an alleged fraudster from Babanla in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, who has been posing as an officer of the anti-graft agency and defrauding victims on the pretext that he could help them procure soft-landing regarding their cases with the Commission.

The bubble, according to a statement by the EFCC, burst for the scammer when the Ilorin Command of the Commission received intelligence regarding his criminal activities. The intel was to the effect that a certain Akogun Rasheed Usman who claimed to be an officer of the EFCC obtained money to the tune of N.5million (Five Hundred Thousand Naira) from one Mrs. Khadizah Abdullahi, a parent of two of the suspects held in custody by the Commission over offences bordering on internet fraud.

The intel, which was found to be credible led to the arrest of the suspect, who claimed to be a staff at the Library Department of the Kwara State College of Education, Oro on Thursday, March 27, 2024 at the General Hospital, Taiwo-Oke area, Ilorin.

Mrs. Abdullahi had said she became agitated when the suspect failed to have her two sons held in custody by the EFCC released on bail to her as promised. Firstly, she said Akogun and her went through the same security screening while at the EFCC office, a situation that made her wonder why it should be so if truly he was an officer of the Commission as he claimed! She also noticed that while in the EFCC office to perfect the ‘phony bail’, the self-styled EFCC staff neither receive nor give salute or compliments to fellow officers as compliments is a tradition in all security and law enforcement agencies. She added that rather than have her sons released to her, the suspects took her to a location outside the office to receive the said sum of N.5million and demanded for more money to perfect the bail.

It was in the process of collecting additional N200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Naira) when the long arm of the law caught up with him.

The statement added that the suspect would be charged to court upon conclusion of the ongoing investigations.