Police arrest customs officer impostor

By Abiodun OBA

Rakiya Musa, an alleged customs officer impostor has been arrested for allegedly swindling unsuspecting members of the public in Lagos.

In a statement, Police Zone 2 command Public Relations Officer (ZPRO), SP Hauwa Idris-Adamu, confirmed the arrest in Onikan, Lagos, on Sunday.

Idris-Adamu said that the Assistant Inspector General of Police of the Zone, comprising Lagos and Ogun, Mr. Mohammed Ali, received a petition on April 12 from two members of the public against Musa.

“A petition was written by one Josiah Kashim Utenwojo and one Dominic Okoh Henry against the suspect who claimed to be an officer of the Nigerian Customs Service in charge of the Public Auction Unit at Tin Can Port, Apapa Lagos.

“Musa lived in the Nigeria Air Force Mess Apapa for three months, thereby making her victims believe she is a Customs officer.

“Upon receipt of the petition, the AIG immediately detailed some crack detectives attached to the Zonal Criminal Investigation Department to investigate and they immediately swung into action,” she said.

According to her, the victims were introduced to the suspect by a retired Naval officer, Akinwande Kayode and the suspect fraudulently obtained N3.2 million from them.

“After a detailed investigation, it was revealed that the victims were introduced to Musa by a retired Naval officer that she should help them procure auction vehicles from the Nigerian Customs Service.

“Based on the foregoing, the sum of N3.2m was transferred to Musa’s UBA personal account.

“Immediately the fund was received, she became incommunicado, and it then dawn upon them that they had been swindled; all efforts made to reach her proved abortive.

“However, after a painstaking investigation, she was arrested at Abuja where Customs ID card and Customs Clearing Agent ID were recovered from her and she was brought to Lagos for proper investigation,” she said.

The ZPRO said that the suspect confessed during the investigation that she had been impersonating as a Customs Officer in order to defraud unsuspecting members of the public and that she had been in the business for over 15 years.

Idris-Adamu said that Musa also claimed to have given the sum of N1m to her boyfriend, Akinwande Kayode, the retired Naval officer, from the N3.2 million fraudulently obtained from the victims.

She advised the general public to be wary of the antics of fraudsters who had been swindling unsuspecting members of the public of their money.

According to her, the investigation is still in progress and the suspect would be charged in court upon completion of the investigation.