Police nab fake employment agents in A/Ibom

Policemen from the Akwa Ibom  State police command have arrested 16 persons in Uyo, the state capital,  for allegedly operating a fake employment agency and collecting money from members of the public with the promise of providing them with empowerment scheme and training for enlistment  into the Nigerian security services.

Operating under the auspices of Niger Delta Youths, Women and Security Movement for Buhari, according to investigations,  the group sold forms to the unsuspecting members of the public at the rate of N6,000.00 for membership and N15, 000.00 for surveillance.

It was further found out that the group tricked applicants into believing that those applying for security jobs will be trained by the Nigerian Army and on completion will be posted to the Nigerian Navy, Police Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Department of State Services, for the purpose of pipeline surveillance and protection.

It was also revealed that the purported recruitment started in 2015 with membership drawn from all the Local Government Areas of the state, with one Felix Obonka from Delta State said to be the mastermind of the group.

According to investigations, Obonka and his cohorts tricked members into believing that they would become trained artisans and proud owners of shops at the end of the programme.

Chukwu Ikechukwu, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Akwa Ibom State command, who confirmed the arrest of the suspects operating the fake employment agency, said they were arrested on 30 June, 2017 following “actionable intelligence,” saying that “a group of people were selling forms to unsuspecting members of the public to be recruited as Law Enforcement Officers using the guise of employment.

“Detectives were mobilised to the scene at a veranda in a storey building along Atiku Abubakar Way, Uyo where 16 persons (10 males and 6 females) were arrested,” he said.

According to him, “N199,800 was recovered and two set of forms for empowerment and surveillance.”

The PPRO also said that the syndicate has neither trained nor given shop to any persons since 2015 and that the group is an unregistered organisation which perpetrates all sorts of criminality and consequently should not be taken seriously.

He said they were merely using the name of the president and commander-in-chief,  Muhammadu Buhari  to scam and defraud innocent members of the public as none of the members belonged to any registered political party.
“The Akwa Ibom State Police Command believes in the sanctity of the law, respect for its citizens in accordance with the tenets of democratic policing. Consequently, the 16 suspects will be arraigned in the court,” he said.

The command therefore warned members of the public to be “wary of unscrupulous elements who under an unlawful organisation are promising employment and skills acquisition empowerment to dupe unsuspecting members of the public.”

 

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo