EFCC arrests three suspects ‘who impersonated Magu’

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has arrested three suspects who impersonated Ibrahim Magu, its chairman.

In a statement on Monday, Tony Orilade, the commission’s spokesman, said the suspects also impersonated senior officials of the commission in carrying out their fraudulent activities.

Orilade said one of the victims, who had forged the commission’s identity card, duped his victim to the tune of N5.7 million.

“Three persons, who are currently in the net of the EFCC, for falsely parading themselves as staff of the commission and dropping staff names for illicit material gains from unsuspecting members of the public, are Samson Sani, Chinaza Ike and one Kenneth Osita,” the statement read.

“Sani, 38, a member of Charted Institute of Forensic and Professionals of Nigeria, CIFIPN, paraded himself as a Course 8 staff of the EFCC and as well as the Head of Forensic Unit of the Commission, a pretence he used to approach members of the public who have issues in the commission with promise of assisting them get out of trouble and obtain money from them in the process.

“Luck ran out on Sani when sometime in 2019, he collected N5,000,000 (Five Million Naira) from one Henry Agbo with a promise to influence the outcome of a criminal matter that concerned him in the Commission and to secure the release of a suspect of interest to him in the custody of the Lagos Office of the EFCC.

“In his petition, Agbo said Sani introduced himself as a staff of the EFCC, in the Forensic Directorate and following their discussion, demanded the sum of N20,000,000 (Twenty Million Naira) from him to kill a matter that concerned him in the EFCC as well as secure the release of a suspect who is of interest to him from the custody of the Lagos Office of the Commission.

“The complainant revealed that he negotiated Sani’s price down to N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) and made advance payment of N5,000, 00 (Five Million Naira) cash to him.

“According to the complainant, Sani collected the money and neither delivered on his promise nor refunded the money he paid him, prompting him to report the matter to the EFCC, after a long and fruitless wait.”

Orilade said the suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.