Man, 29, poses as Police IG, defrauds Saudi Arabian doctor
A 29-year-old suspect, Ekperebuike Akadonye has been apprehended by the police for allegedly impersonating the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and defrauding his victim on the Internet.
Akadonye was also accused of duping a Saudi Arabia-based doctor, identified as Hassan Alkahallaf, of the sum of $10,000. Alkahallaf, it was gathered, has prior to this incident been duped by Nigerians via the Internet on two separate occasions, with efforts to recover the funds proving futile.
The suspect, who was taken into custody by the Inspector-General Special Intelligence Response Team, purportedly carried out the fraudulent act when he introduced himself as the IG of police to Alkahallaf, with a promise to help him recover his lost funds.
He then demanded that his victim pay him $10,000 in order to fast-track the legal processes for the recovery, a sum which Alkahallaf subsequently paid in installments into Akadonye’s account.
A police source disclosed that the doctor reached out to the IG through the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Nigeria after realising that he had been duped again.
“The suspect contacted his victims, including Hassan (Alkahallaf), who is attached to the Department of Urology, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, via an email address, [email protected], purportedly belonging to IG Ibrahim Idris,” the source told PUNCH.
“He claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari, in his fight against corruption, had directed the IG to make refunds to victims who had been defrauded by Nigerians in the past.
“The doctor replied to Akadonye’s emails, believing he was the real IG of the Nigeria Police Force, and he eventually paid him $10,000 in instalments to get back his lost funds. He lied to the doctor that he would use the money to hire a lawyer who would represent him since he wasn’t based in Nigeria,” the source said.
Upon getting reports of the impersonation through the Saudi Embassy, the IG had directed his team to go after the suspect. Akadonye was subsequently tracked to Imo State, where he hails from.
“A mobile phone and a laptop he used in carrying out the fraud were recovered from him. He was also found with ATM cards and an identity card of a Federal Bureau of Investigation officer. He is currently being interrogated by operatives of the IG response team,” another source revealed.
Akadonye in his statement, confessed to have committed the act, and also explained that his involvement in the crime occurred as a result of his shops being demolished by the government.
“I am a trader and I had shops in Mbano, Imo State. But they were demolished by the government. One of my friends introduced me to Internet fraud. I started by searching for prominent persons on the Internet. When I found Dr Alkahallaf, he told me he had some funds trapped in Nigeria and he wanted to claim them. I presented myself to him as the IG and told him the President had mandated me to assist fraudsters’ victims to get back their lost funds. I asked him to pay for a lawyer. He believed and paid me,” he said.
