7th March, 2014
Yusuf Muhammed & Pius Fagbohun
Four men who claimed to be working for the Ado Odo-Ota Local Government Council of Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, have been arrested by the police for extortion and impersonation.
The men were arrested yesterday at their hideout in Joju area of Sango for illegally impounding the circulation van of P.M.NEWS with registration number KSF 721 XG at the Toll Gate. Fake letterhead papers and stamps of the local government were recovered from them. The P.M.NEWS circulation van was also recovered.
Luck ran out on them when the Chairman of Ado Odo-Ota Local Government Area, Rotimi Rahman, asked one of his special assistants to investigate a report on the activities of the men.
The assistant discovered that the men had no authority to impound any vehicle on behalf of the local government for not buying the local government sticker.
He promptly reported the matter to the police at Sango Station who stormed their hideout and arrested them.
During interrogation, the men could not give satisfactory explanation on whose authority they were acting. They were immediately detained.
Commenting on the arrest of the fraudsters, the Head of Management and Contract Unit, Ado Odo-Ota Local Government, Adams Ddapo, said the council has been on the trail of members of the syndicate for a long time.
“We have been on the trail of these fraudsters for a long time. They have been duping innocent members of the public under the guise of working for the local government. They prevented the council from generating its legitimate revenue. We don’t know where they got the council’s letterhead papers and stamps. We want to know their collaborators and how they got the council’s papers,” she stated.
Commenting on the arrest of the men, a senior police source at Sango station confirmed to P.M.NEWS that investigation was ongoing on the matter, adding that the men were still being detained.
“In the course of our investigation, we found out that the consultant who got the contract to enforce the use of the council’s stickers was not aware of the activities of the men. He was surprised to see the letterhead papers printed by the men for their illegal activities,” he said.