Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, are currently interrogating a student of Computer Science, Bauchi State Polytechnic, Eze Mavus Ugochukwu, for posing as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
Ugochukwu, an indigene of Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, was arrested by the officers of 33 Artillery Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Shadawanka Barracks, Bauchi State and handed over to the Gombe Zonal Office of the EFCC.
The arrest followed a complaint by one Mrs Dorcas Oni that the suspect presented himself to her as a Lieutenant in Nigerian Army, promised to assist in securing admission for her son into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and subsequently made her transfer the sum of N400, 000 to his account.
The anti-graft commission said its investigation revealed that the suspect has defrauded some other victims to the tune of N1,455,000 using the same military bait. All the proceeds of crime were reportedly paid into his two bank accounts domiciled in FCMB and STANBIC IBTC between December 2019 and July 2020.
Ugochukwu allegedly succeeded in making his victims believe he was a military officer by photo-shopping military officers’ uniforms and super-imposing his face on them, while also complementing the fraud by attaching his name tag on the uniforms.
The commission said the suspect, who had also forged military documents to convince his victims he would secure NDA admission for them, will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.