The Nigerian Prisons Service has apprehended a
suspected job scammer, James Odey, for allegedly issuing fake letters of
appointment to unsuspecting job seekers in the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
Before his arrest, Odeh was said to have issued
about 400 applicants with fake appointment letters into the Nigerian Prisons
Service.
The Prisons Service Public Relations Officer,
Francis Enobore, said 31 victims had besieged the National Headquarters of the
Prisons Service with fake letters of appointment for documentation last Friday.
He said investigation indicated that the victims
were duped by the suspect and his gang members, who posed as members of
“Replacement Board” of the NPS.
Some of the victims claimed to have parted with
between N100,000 and N500,000 before they were issued the fake letters of
appointment.
The NPS spokesman said, “The appointment letters
prompted an investigation from the Intelligence Unit of the Service which led
to the arrest of Odeh at his hideout.”
Enobore said the 31 applicants with fake
appointment letters and Odeh had been handed over to the police for further
interrogation and prosecution, while the search for other members of the
syndicate continued.
“The public is hereby advised to beware of
fraudsters on the prowl, who take undue advantage of the congested labour
market to inflict further pains on unsuspecting job seekers,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom State command of the
Nigerian Immigration Service has arrested a 40-year old pastor, Victor Udom,
for defrauding one of his church members, Mr. Eyo Akpan, of N500,000.
Udom, a prophet of Eternity Mission Church, Udo
Uweme, Uyo, was said to have collected N270,000 from Akpan to secure a job with
the NIS for his daughter, Miss Magdalene Akpan.
The state Controller, NIS, Abdullahi Garba, said
Magdalene brought an appointment letter which Udom had prepared for her to
start work in the command.
He stated that Udom stole the appointment letter
of a former immigration officer who had died and altered some information to
reflect the currency of the situation, including altering the man’s name to
that of Magdalene.
He said, “Udom promised to give employment to
Magdalene. He gave fake employment letter with a forged signature of one
Sylvester Johnson, as an offer of immigration job to Magdalene.
“Our officers were able to track him down and he
is with us. We intend to send him to Abuja for further investigation.
“It may also interest you to know that Udom had
collected N270,000 from Magdalene’s father for immigration and N230,000 for a
job in ExxonMobil from the same man. He is a serial fraudster. He has confessed
to us.
He stated that recruitment into NIS had started,
adding that the process was through online.
He explained that upon successfully completing
the online form, a Personal Identification Number would be issued to each
applicant for participation in the online examination.
Udom, however, said somebody collected the money
with a promised to get a job for the lady.
“When the family started disturbing me and the
person that collected the money refused to pick my calls, I prepared the
employment letter for Magdalene.
“One of my church members gave me that letter for
me to pray for him; the person is dead, he was working in NIS,” he said.
Source: Punch
No comments:
Post a Comment