JOINT EFFORTS OF AGENCIES LEAD TO ARREST OF FRAUDSTERS
By Trek Africa Newspaper
The Nigeria Police have announced the case of a Mrs. Ifeanyiwa Anthonia Ugoh who filed the complaint against one Peace Ekom Robert and others who were nabbed after months of abscondment by the joint efforts of Police Special Fraud Unit INTERPOL, EFCC, Police CID, and Police Cybercrime Centre.
Trek Africa Newspaper gathered from the Police press statement that ‘On 30th January, 2023, Mrs. Ugoh had communicated with Peace Ekom Robert, indicating that she had access to a significant sum of 600,000 Euros for forex trading. In response, the suspect claimed to have a client requiring 780,000 Euros. To verify the authenticity of the suspect and her client, Mrs. Ugoh arranged for her client to make payments totaling 55,000 Euros in two
installments. Subsequently, the suspect provided an account balance
statement, allegedly showing a remarkable 5.3 billion Naira,
demonstrating her client’s financial capacity for the transaction.’
‘However, after conducting due diligence, Mrs. Ugoh discovered that the account balance statement provided by the suspect was forged. When she sought to recover the 55,000 Euros or its Naira equivalent, the suspect falsely claimed that the account had been flagged by INTERPOL, even resorting to threats to dissuade Mrs. Ugoh from involving the
police. Undeterred, Mrs. Ugoh reported the matter to the Force Criminal
Investigation Department (FCID) Annex in Lagos, leading to the arrest of the suspect, Peace Ekom Robert. A friend of hers, one Hon. Ndiana Abasi, in a bid to broker peace between the parties voluntarily paid the sum of 15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Naira) of the total Naira equivalence of 42,900,000 (Forty Two Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira).
Subsequently, Peace Ekom Robert was granted bail under the condition that she would pay the outstanding balance of 27,900,000 Naira in two installments, as witnessed by Hon. Ndiana-Abasi.’
‘Regrettably, the suspect failed to fulfill this commitment and absconded, evading the legal process. In a twist of events, the suspect petitioned the Inspector General of Police, resulting in the case being forwarded to the NPF National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC). Recognizing the similarity of cases involving the suspect, the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) was assigned to
harmonize the investigations. The suspect later attempted to arrange a meeting with Mrs. Ugoh to reconcile, but upon arrival, Mrs. Ugoh, accompanied by police officers, discovered that the suspect had come with officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to apprehend her’, Trek Africa Newspaper gathered.
‘After realizing that the police were coordinating the case harmonization with the EFCC, the suspect ceased contact with them. Peace Ekom Robert was thereafter declared wanted alongside Ndiana Abasi who came forward and clarified his position in the matter and was there upon cleared by the Police. The suspect, Peace Ekom, was
apprehended on 22nd September in Abuja after months of evading
arrests. It has come to our attention that additional complainants with similar cases against her have started to come forward. We are committed to conducting thorough investigations, and upon the conclusion of our inquiries, the suspect will be brought to face legal consequences. We take this opportunity to encourage other victims of the suspect’s fraudulent activities to come forward and cooperate in the harmonization of investigations. This collaborative effort is pivotal in ensuring that justice is served’
