Rakiya Musa, a purported fake lady customs officer, has been detained by the police in Zone 2 command Onikan, Lagos, for allegedly defrauding unwary members of the public.
In a statement released on Sunday, SP Hauwa Idris-Adamu, the Zonal Public Relations Officer (ZPRO), confirmed the arrest.
Idris-Adamu claimed that on April 12, two members of the public filed a plea against Musa with the Assistant Inspector General of Police of the Zone, which includes Lagos and Ogun, Mr. Mohammed Ali.
“A petition was written by one Josiah Kashim Utenwojo and one Dominic Okoh Henry against the suspect who claimed to be an officer of the Nigerian Customs Service in charge of the Public Auction Unit at Tin Can Port, Apapa Lagos.
“Musa lived in the Nigeria Air Force Mess Apapa for three months, thereby making her victims believe she is a Customs officer.
“Upon receipt of the petition, the AIG immediately detailed some crack detectives attached to the Zonal Criminal Investigation Department to investigate and they immediately swung into action,” she said.
She claims that a retired naval officer named Akinwande Kayode introduced the victims to the culprit, who then defrauded them of N3.2 million.
“After a detailed investigation, it was revealed that the victims were introduced to Musa by a retired Naval officer that she should help them procure auction vehicles from the Nigerian Customs Service.
“Based on the foregoing, the sum of N3.2m was transferred to Musa’s UBA personal account.
“Immediately the fund was received, she became incommunicado, and it then dawn upon them that they had been swindled; all efforts made to reach her proved abortive.
“However, after a painstaking investigation, she was arrested at Abuja where Customs ID card and Customs Clearing Agent ID were recovered from her and she was brought to Lagos for proper investigation,” she said.
According to the ZPRO, the suspect admitted throughout the inquiry that she had been impersonating a Customs Officer for over 15 years in order to scam unwary members of the public.
Idris-Adamu reported that Musa also claimed to have donated N1 million from the N3.2 million fraudulently collected from the victims to her partner, retired naval officer Akinwande Kayode.
She cautioned the general public to be careful of the tricks used by con artists to defraud innocent people of their money.
She stated that the investigation was still ongoing and that once it was finished, the suspect will be charged in court. (NAN)
