Two suspected fraudsters – Charles Abam and Felix Machi, have been arrested for allegedly attempting to defraud President Muhammadu Buhari’s children and relations.
The two suspects were allegedly picked up from their base in Asaba, Delta State, last Tuesday.
One of the suspects, Charles Abam, was said to have sought and got the telephone numbers of President Buhari’s children under the pretense that he was acting on behalf of Senator Daisy Danjuma, wife of General T .Y Danjuma.
A police source said that Abam had, in April 2017, sent a text message to the National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu, pretending to be acting on behalf of Senator Danjuma.
It was gathered that in the text message, the suspects was said to have demanded for the telephone numbers of President Buhari’s children as well as one of the president’s uncle.
Not realizing it was a scam, the women leader, according to police source, allegedly said she only had the telephone number of Aisha Buhari’s uncle. The source further claimed that she ignorantly sent the number to the fraudsters.
Armed with this, the suspects sent another text message to the elderly man who then sent the telephone numbers of some of the president’s children to them.
He said: “The duo then sent messages, using another telephone line to their victims, majority of whom were the president’s relations. In the SMS they generated, they demanded that their victims should nominate names which they want to be recruited into the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). Eight names were sent to them.
“Having gotten the names, the suspects proceeded to demand for an undisclosed sum of money from the victims. They claimed that the money demanded was meant for the procurement of training kits. Their demands were rebuffed by the nominees.”
It was gathered that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, was later contacted about the activities of the fraudsters. He allegedly detailed detectives from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), led by Abba Kyari, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), to investigate and bring all involved to book. After weeks of discrete investigation, the suspects were tracked down to their base in Asaba, Delta State, where they were arrested.
Thirty six-year-old Abam said: “I went into fraud in 2014 because I couldn’t secure another job after I was dismissed as a policeman. When I went into fraud, I started with the internet but I wasn’t making enough money.
“One Felix, who later became my partner, provides the accounts I give to my victims. Before I attempted to defraud the president’s children, I had defrauded several politicians across the country by pretending to be a kidney failure patient. I had contacted the politicians and told them that I needed donations for kidney transplant and lots of them sent money to me. I got N70, 000 from one Hon. Emeka Obinna, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly; Hon Ossy, Commissioner for Lands, Delta State, gave me N50,000; Senator Ahmed Ramoni gave me N150,000, while another member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Obinna Uzor, gave me N50,000. I also got N50,000 from Senator Ahmed Yerima; N100,000 from former President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; N100,000 from the Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Aniofor Udo, and N55,000 from former Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Daniel Abia.
Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, said efforts were on-going to apprehend other members of the gang.