The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has returned N36, 186,12.00 to Mrs Ifeoma Chukwuogo, Proprietress of
Jephtah International School, East-West Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State as
money recovered from three suspected fraudsters. According to the commission,
the money was allegedly diverted from the school’s bank account for their
private use.
The suspects
Cyril, a staff of Access Bank Plc, who was the Account Officer of the school,
Boma, who posed as the Customer Relations Officer of the bank and Aderemi, who
prints fake documents, allegedly diverted over N37,000,000 belonging to the
school.
Presenting the
money to the school proprietres, Port Harcourt Zonal Head of Operations of the
EFCC, Mr. Ishaq Salihu, disclosed that apart from the cash recovery, the
commission also recovered other suspected proceeds of crime including a
three-bedroom and two 2-bedroom bungalows. He commended Access Bank for
promptly reporting the case. The matter was reported September 7, 2017 after
the school’s cheques could not be honored for days. Salihu explained that at
the beginning of every new term, the suspect would visit the school to collect
fees paid in cash and cheque by parents and issued deposit slips to the
school.
Investigations
showed that the suspect only lodged the cheques but diverted the cash collected
for his personal use. Besides, the account’s officer issued doctored Statements
of Account to the school in a bid to cover up his nefarious actions. Salihu
further disclosed that another accomplice, Moses, printed fake letter heads of
another organisation where he is also the account officer and was using its
money to pay Jephtah International School’s staff salaries. In her response, Mrs Chukwuogo thanked the EFCC
for its swift response and called on Nigerians to give more support to the
commission. “On behalf of Jephtah International Schools, I want to
say a very big thank you for helping us to recover the money,” she said.
The anti-graft
agency also said that it arrested one Tasiu and his accomplice, Haruna over
alleged crime bordering on impersonation. According to Salihu, Haruna and Tasiu
allegedly cloned the Facebook account of the Managing Director of the Niger
Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Nsima Ekere, to dupe unsuspecting Nigerian
job seekers. The commission also said it arrested one Okunado for allegedly
impersonating top government officials, including Bayelsa State Governor,
Seriake Dickson and chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers
State, Felix Obuah.
SUN
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