62-year-old Babatunde Idris has been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command for parading himself as a colonel in the Nigerian Army and using a fake identity to defraud one Yinusa Mustapha of the sum of N40m.
The state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said Idris was arrested after a petition was filed against him.
He said:
“Following a petition received alleging the fraudulent activities of Idris, the command’s Anti-kidnapping Squad swung into action and arrested the suspect, who until his arrest had fraudulently obtained various sums of money from his victims.”
Oyebade added that the suspect promised his last victim, Mustapha, that he would help him to get a certificate for oil importation in 2012, but up till now that hasn’t been done. He failed to complete the deal after the money was paid into his account.
The commissioner added:
“The suspect forged various letterheads of the Nigerian Army which he issued to unsuspecting individuals and corporate organisations soliciting assistance. He also had multiple identities under fake names all bearing the status of a colonel”.
The suspect said on the other hand said:
“I collected N16m from him claiming to be a colonel in the army. I signed the form, but truly I am not a military man. One of my brothers is a general in the army. One day, he gave me a letter to help somebody, so I made a copy of it.
“Mustapha wanted me to help him to collect certificate of oil lifting and because I knew people who could do it, I took the money from him, but the deal failed.”
Punch