Defrauded Businessman Of N17m, Blamed it On Poverty

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Lagos, has apprehended two men, Olumide Ayobami and Tokunbo Martins, for allegedly defrauding one Yakubu Mumuni of N17m.

It was learnt that the victim, who is an oil marketer, had recently gone into importation of chemicals and needed to clear goods at the seaport.

Ayobami made a call to the victim using a foreign number and faking an accent to sound like a foreigner, he then offered to connect him (Yakubu) to some people at the port who would help him clear his goods.

It was learnt that the suspects succeeded in defrauding Yakubu with the help of a friend, Mumuni, who is still at large.

Ayobami claims he is a casual worker at a manufacturing company and an indigene of Ogbomosho, Oyo State.

He said poverty pushed him into criminal acts as he needed money to take care of his wife and children.

He said, “I was introduced to Mumuni through his friend, Adam, who was part of the scam. Mumuni said he wanted to clear some products and I told him that I was also an importer with experience in this sort of thing. I told him I would send someone to collect the money from him and he trusted me because it was his friend, Adam, that connected us.

“I told him that I would accept only cash because we did not want to pay bank charges and he accepted.”

The victim reportedly made payments to the fraudsters in four instalments; he however got suspicious of them along the line and resorted to reporting the case to SARS.

Speaking on how he was able to speak with such a convincing accent, Ayobami claimed he lived in Russia for years, until 2008 when he was deported.

The second suspect, Martins, also claims he was deported from Ireland. He blamed Ayobami for their arrest saying it was his greed that ruined their plans.

He also pleaded with the police to release him as he had an appointment at the Irish Embassy this week.

A police source said, “The victim sold two of his trucks and also borrowed money in order to pay these fraudsters, it is saddening. Hopefully, we will get Adam soon.”