Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have arrested twenty-four (24)
suspects comprising twenty-three (23) male and one (1) female for
cybercrime and other related offences.
The suspects were arrested for their involvement and indictment in cases
of romance and online dating scams, generating and deployment of fake
bank alerts, hacking and fraudulent wire transfers, cyberstalking, and
impersonation of high-profile personalities in Nigeria and across the
world.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects include: 11 Laptop Computers, 37
Mobile Phones, 11 SIM cards of different telecoms networks, 5
International passports, 12 ATM Cards, Fake US Dollar notes, Quantities
of dry leaves suspected to be Marijuana
Notable amongst the cases is the arrest of three brothers – Emmanuel
Ushie – 23yrs; Henry Ushie – 30 years old and a graduate of Statistics
from Anambra State University and Matthew Ushie – 28 years old and an
OND graduate from Federal Polytechnic Oko, for running a fake Frank Mba
Foundation bank account with FCMB. The trio used a fake Facebook account
and the fraudulently operated bank account to defraud innocent Nigerians
of their hard-earned monies under the pretext that the Foundation is
raising money to help vulnerable Nigerians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Investigations by the police operatives attached to the Intelligence
Response Team (IRT) reveal that the brothers engage extensively and
serially in such frauds and other related cybercrimes.
During the unrelenting manhunt of the fraudsters, Henry Ushie ‘m’ 30yrs,
an elder sibling to Emmanuel Ushie, was identified as the gang leader of
the syndicate behind the scam. He went underground as his younger
siblings also involved in the crime were arrested.
Following weeks of intense follow-up and meticulous investigations, the
kingpin – Henry Ushie ‘m’ was arrested on Thursday 11/6/2020 at about
1255hrs at a hideout in Ihiala, Anambra State. His arrest eventually led
to the arrest of his younger brother Mathew Ushie ‘m’ who is also an
active member of the syndicate.
Further investigation reveals that Mathew Ushie ‘m’ had been arrested in
Ghana last year in a well publicized bust of fraudsters where he and
other international fraudsters used the name of the Inspector General of
Police of Ghana, John Kudalor to defraud unsuspecting Ghanaian policemen
in the guise of providing an opportunity for them to attend United
Nations peacekeeping mission using a fake Facebook account. Information
about his arrest and parading before the press in Ghana is available on
the internet.
Similarly, Henry Ushie had also been arrested in 2017 by the IRT for
impersonating then ACP ABBA Kyari, the Commander IRT on Facebook, and
defrauding many innocent Nigerians before he was arrested and
subsequently charged to court for impersonation. He eventually got bail
from the court and went back to the same crime.
All the suspects will be charged to court at the conclusion of
investigations.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Abubakar Adamu once
again uses this medium to assure Nigerians of the continued resolve of
the Force to rid the country of all forms of crimes and criminality
including cybercrimes. He also urges citizens to redirect their energy
to the positive utilization of the cyberspace, cyber resources, and
social media, and shun their related negative influences.
