Odita Sunday 
Delta Police Arrest Three Over ₦5.4m Fraud, Impersonation of Top Officials
By Odita Sunday
The Delta State Police Command has arrested three suspected fraudsters for allegedly impersonating senior government officials to defraud a community leader of ₦5.475 million under the guise of facilitating his appointment as President-General of his community.
The suspects, identified as Aghogho Okpogbodu, 51; Moses Exist, 48; and Benjamin Owah, 49, were arrested following an investigation by detectives attached to the Area Command, Effurun.
The police said the suspects allegedly operated a fraud syndicate that targeted unsuspecting members of the public with promises of employment, political appointments and other government privileges.
According to the Command, preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects allegedly used SIM cards purportedly registered in the names of prominent public officials, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the Director of Protocol to the Delta State Governor, Chief Hon. Onoriode Sunday; and Hon. Prince Johnson Erijo, identified in the statement as Chief of Staff to the Delta State Governor.
The suspects allegedly exploited caller-identification applications to make their telephone calls appear to originate from the identities of the officials they purportedly impersonated.
In one of the alleged fraudulent operations, the suspects reportedly posed as the Director of Protocol to the Delta State Governor and deceived a community leader from Otu-Jeremi into paying ₦5.475 million on the false promise of securing his appointment as President-General of the community.
A search of the suspects’ premises led to the recovery of seven mobile phones, 17 SIM cards, 12 ATM cards bearing different account holders’ names, one Point-of-Sale (POS) terminal and documents containing financial and identification details belonging to various individuals.
The police said investigations were ongoing to identify other possible victims and establish whether additional accomplices were involved in the alleged scheme.
Reacting to the development, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Samuel E. Erale, cautioned members of the public against relying solely on caller-identification applications to establish the identity of telephone callers, particularly when financial demands or promises of government appointments are involved.
He urged anyone who might have been defrauded by the suspects or encountered similar schemes to come forward with credible information to assist the ongoing investigation.
Erale reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to combating fraud and ensuring that anyone found culpable was brought to justice.
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