The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kwara State Command on Wednesday arrested five suspects who were going about petrol stations in Ilorin metropolis collecting money from unsuspecting members of the public, claiming to be NSCDC officers.
This was revealed by the spokesman for the NSCDC in Kwara State Command, Babawale Afolabi, in a statement released to newsmen in Ilorin on Wednesday.
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It said that the Command had commenced investigations on the matter to confirm if the suspects were running a syndicate with others who were also operating throughout the 16 Local Government Areas of the state.
The statement read, “On the 8th of March, 2022, at about 1422 hours, our anti-vandal unit led by ACC Yusuf Olatunji got an intelligence report that some group of men, who put on uniforms of Civil Defence, have been going around filling stations in Ilorin metropolis claiming to be members of the national task force on assignment from Abuja. After meeting the managers of the petrol stations, they would collect money from them, as the petrol sellers believed that they were officers of the NSCDC,” Afolabi said.
Afolabi gave the names of the suspects as; Saheed Adedayo (37), Muritala Oloruntoyin (40), Emmanuel Ferife (45), Abiodun Oluseun, (44) and Isaac Aluko (43.)
“They all claimed to be members of the Importers Association of Nigeria and have been going around extorting money from unsuspecting petrol sellers in the state capital.
“However, they ran out of luck as they got to a filling station at the Amilegbe area of Ilorin, as the office of the anti-vandal unit was contacted by the management of the petrol station. The unit patrol team later swung into action and the five suspects were arrested,” the statement further read.
During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime, even though they adamantly claimed to be members of the Importers Association of Nigeria and were going about filling stations to gather intelligence reports.
Afolabi said that the Commandant of the NSCDC in the state, Makinde Ayinla, appealed to petrol stations and the people of the state to be wary of the unscrupulous elements who would like to use this period of fuel scarcity to perpetrate criminal activities.
He further advised them to carry out all the necessary due diligence before dealing with any group or individuals claiming to be security operatives.
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