Fake Colonel Arrested Over N40m Fraud (Pictured)

The Oyo State Police Command has arrested 62-year-old Babatunde Idris for parading himself as a colonel in the Nigerian Army and using a fake identity to defraud one Yinusa Mustapha of the sum of N40m.

The state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said Idris was arrested after a petition was filed against him.

He said, “Following a petition received alleging the fraudulent activities of Idris, the command’s Anti-kidnapping Squad swung into action and arrested the suspect, who until his arrest had fraudulently obtained various sums of money from his victims.”

Oyebade added that the suspect promised his last victim, Mustapha, that he would help him to get a certificate for oil importation since 2012, but failed to complete the deal after the money was paid into his account.

“The suspect forged various letterheads of the Nigerian Army which he issued to unsuspecting individuals and corporate organisations soliciting assistance. He also had multiple identities under fake names all bearing the status of a colonel,” the commissioner added.

The suspect said he collected the money from his victim in installments, but denied that the money was up to N40m.

He said, “I collected N16m from him claiming to be a colonel in the army. I signed the form, but truly I am not a military man. One of my brothers is a general in the army. One day, he gave me a letter to help somebody, so I made a copy of it.

“Mustapha wanted me to help him to collect certificate of oil lifting and because I knew people who could do it, I took the money from him, but the deal failed.”

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