The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has apprehended four individuals suspected of impersonating Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officers, who were allegedly plotting to kidnap and extort a ransom of N150 million from their intended victim.
Commissioner of Police Waheed Ayilara, while parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Ikot Akpanabia, Uyo, on Monday, revealed that Emmanuel Akpayak, the principal suspect, orchestrated the kidnapping to extort money from his victim and avoid repaying a debt of over N12 million.
He listed the suspects to include one Emmanuel Augustine Akpayak ‘M’ aged 27years, Echem Ovurizichi Weneka, ‘M’, aged 27years, Promise Udofia ‘M’ aged 28 years and Jeremiah Johnson Okon ‘M’ 38 years.
According to the CP, “Investigation revealed that Emmanuel Augustine Akpayak had arranged for the kidnap and killing of the would-be victim by engaging men on arms and procuring the EFCC vest/uniform for the operation.
“(The) Victim was invited and a search was conducted at the principal suspect’s house where four pairs of the EFCC vest were recovered. Information at hand indicates that the suspect transacted a business of selling cars with the would-be victim and owed the victim about N12m. To evade the repayment of the debt, the suspect hired armed men to kidnap, extort the sum of N150m and also kill the victim thereafter but the operation was foiled. Suspects will have their day in court,” he said.
In an interview with the principal suspect, Akpayak, he claimed that the intending victim was his business associate to whom he owed some money but hired “boys” who were issuing threats to him.
Akpayak’s attempts to reason with his associate were unsuccessful, leading him to purchase an EFCC vest online and distribute it to his cohorts, who used it to impersonate EFCC officials and demand a ransom of N150 million from the victim, falsely accusing him of internet fraud.
The commissioner also presented suspects accused of advanced fee fraud, who had been scamming Point of Sale (PoS) operators in Uyo.
“On 21/06/2024 at about 7:00pm, one Glory Uko Okon ‘F’ of Afaha Ikot Obio Nkan Village, Ibesikpo Asutan LGA, called in through the emergency hotline and alleged that one Donald Ita Nyong ‘M’, Rex Clement Uso ‘M’ and one Kingsley Mathias Joekim POS syndicates came to her stand at Udo Udoma Avenue Uyo, pretended to make a withdrawal of N10,000. While she made the withdrawal to the suspects, one of the suspects gave her N3,200 to deposit into an Opay account which she tried three times and the transaction was unsuccessful. The suspects mounted pressure on her which made her give out the POS machine to the suspect to type in the account number. The suspects mounted pressure on her which made her give out the POS machine to the suspect to type in the account number. Before she could realise it, the suspects had withdrawn the sum of N320,000 from her machine and quickly jumped into their waiting car and zoomed off. Suspects were arrested, they all made useful statements and have confessed to the crime.”
