A 36-year-old man, Olalekan Kazeem, has been arrested by
the Lagos State Police Command for alleged fraud and theft.
According to police authorities, the
suspect’s modus operandi was to either impersonate a popular person on facebook
and defraud unsuspecting people or to offer women free rides with his car only
to make away with their valuables.
PUNCH Metro learnt
that five women had fallen victim to his tricks, three of whom were National
Youth Service Corps members.
The police also said the suspect was
five years ago arrested and paraded before journalists.
The victims told journalists at the
office of the Police Public Relations Officer that the suspect made away with
cash, documents, ATM cards and their handbags.
One of the victims, Adenike Odubiyi,
said Kazeem posed as Prince Adekunle Oyekan on facebook.
She said, “On facebook, someone with
the name Prince Adekunle Oyekan, sent me a friend request. He never used his
own personal picture rather; he used the Nigerian Coat of Arms logo as his
picture.
“I accepted his request and he was
able to get my BlackBerry PIN on my profile page and we used to chat a lot.
“One day he asked me what I was doing
for living but I told him that I completed my NYSC in February but had no job.
He told me he had connections with the Nigerian Customs Service and that he
could help me get a job there.”
Odubiyi said the suspect demanded for
N235,000 and told her that they would need to travel to the NCS Headquarters,
Abuja together.
She said on November 15, 2012, she
met the suspect at Motorways Plaza, and she got into his car.
She said, “My husband dropped me off
at Motorways where I met Kazeem. Kazeem later told me that he was a surgeon and
that his real name was Babs Adegoroye.
“On our way to the Ikeja Airport, he
stopped to buy fuel at Mobolaji Johnson Avenue. After buying fuel, he said his
car was faulty and asked me to help push it (car) so he could kick start it.
“I alighted from the vehicle, leaving
all my money (N235, 000), my original credentials and other valuables in his
car. Immediately I pushed the car, Kazeem started it and sped off.”
Three NYSC members, who also fell victim
to the suspect, said Kazeem offered them a free ride in Oyo State but made away
with their belongings.
The victims – Fadeke Adefemi, Ganiyat
Ibrahim and Folashade Okunola – were on their way from their Community
Development Service when they met the suspect.
Adefemi said, “On December 20, 2012,
my colleagues and I were on our way back from CDS on Ishara end of Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway when Kazeem saw us in our uniform. He offered us a ride and we
boarded his car.
“When we got to Guru Maraji area, he
said his car was faulty and asked us to alight and push it. As we were pushing
it, the car started and he sped off. All our belongings were in his vehicle,
including phones.”
Another victim, Janet Akinbo, said
she had a similar experience with Kazeem when he picked her up at Berger end of
the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
She said, “My ATM card, phone and my
original credentials were left in Kazeem’s car. My ATM PIN was my date of birth
and Kazeem was able to obtain this information from my curriculum vitae.
“He was able to withdraw all the
money in my bank account which was N104, 000.”
The suspect, who claimed to be a
graduate of Civil Engineering, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, told PUNCH Metrothat he took to
crime because he needed to take care of his wife and four children.
“I became a fraudster because I had
fallen victim to fraudsters before. I used to be a foreman for a building
construction company but needed more money to take care of my family,” he said.
When quizzed about how he escaped
being sent to jail five years ago, the suspect said he was acquitted of all
charges.
The PPRO, Ngozi Braide, seized the
opportunity to warn members of the public, especially women, to be very careful
when dealing with strangers.
“The case of Cynthia Osokogu should
serve as a lesson to young women that meeting strangers on social networks or
getting into a car with a strange man is dangerous,” she said, adding that the
suspect was arrested through intelligence gathering.
She said, “After the lady he met on
facebook (Odubiyi) reported at Ogudu Police Station, detectives were able to
find him and when his place was searched, some belongings of the other victims
were found.
“Through their items, we were able to
contact them. However, we couldn’t recover their certificates.”
Source: Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment