A 36-year-old man, former police sergeant, Charles Abam, has been arrested by the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team, IRT.
Abam and one other, Felix Machi, are now being held at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, for attempting to defraud the children of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Abam told his interrogators that after being jobless since 2003 when he lost his job as a policeman, he discovered that he could make a lot of money by defrauding influential Nigerians.
Abam allegedly got hold of the phone number of a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, whom he was contacted by impersonating Mrs. Daisy Danjuma , wife of Gen. T. Y. Danjuma.
Through the APC chieftain, he was able to contact some members of Buhari’s family.
The suspect, who hails from Ndukwa East , Delta State, said he left his police post in 2003 after being enticed by a chance to travel abroad.
He said, “When I had an opportunity to travel out of the country I left my duty post and went on to process my documents, but I was defrauded and I lost all my money.
“I went back to my police job but I was told that I had been declared a deserter. I begged to be reinstated but was not taken back . I then began to look for work. I also applied for a bank security job but did not get it.
The suspect, who also led the police to arrest his accomplice, Machi, said he regrets his action.
According to him, his fraudulent activities started in 2014 after his unsuccessful attempts to find a job.
He said, “I started with internet fraud but I was not making enough money. Then, I went into local fraud.
“One of my friends, known as Mike, taught me how to impersonate people in order to get phone numbers of prominent politicians.
“Sometimes I also paid to get the phone numbers . I later met Machi, who became my partner.
“Before I attempted to defraud the president’s children, I had defrauded many politicians by pretending to be a kidney disease patient.
“I told some politicians that I needed financial help for a kidney transplant and many of them sent money to me. I got N70, 000 from a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, EmekaObinna, the Commissioner for Lands in Delta State and he gave me N 50 , 000.
“One Senator Ahmed Kamoni, gave me N150, 000 while another member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, ObinnaUzor, gave me N50, 000.
“I also got N50,000 from Senator Ahmed Yerima. Even the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejefor, gave me N100, 000.
“I also got N100, 000 from the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Aniofor Udo andN 5,500 from a former Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Daniel Abia.”
Abam said he gave 10 per cent of all the money he made from his kidney transplant fraud to Machi.
He said he only decided they needed to up their game recently when he broached the idea of defrauding the First Family to Machi.
He said he got the phone number of the APC chieftain from the APC Chairman in Delta State, Prophet Enu, by impersonating the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.
Abam said, “Eventually, when I contacted the President’s children and they sent me the eight names, I realised the candidates were not cooperating.
“I knew something had gone wrong when I started receiving calls from people threatening to arrest me.
“I decided to destroy my phones and sim cards. I thought there was no way I could be tracked without them.
“But I was surprised when the police showed up at my house on Saturday and arrested me.”
Authorities at the headquarters said Abam and his accomplice would be charged to court as soon as investigation into the extent of their operation was complete.
