Personnel of the Intelligence Response Team IRT, a unit of the Force Intelligence Bureau FIB of the Nigeria Police Force has said a notorious and serial fake bank alert fraudster, Olaogun Babatunde has been arrested for the crime of using a fake bank alert to defraud a Nigerian of N5million and another N4.6 million for the purchase of laptop computers.
Report said the suspect, Olaogun, 37 popularly called ‘Genius’ among friends because of his expertise in generating fake bank credit alerts he uses to defraud traders and others hails from Ogbomosho, Oyo State southwest Nigeria and graduated from the University of Lagos in 2008.
It was gathered that Olaogun who is in his mid-40s was previously arrested by the IRT Commander DCP Tunji Disu led Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command in 2018 when he was alleged to have generated and used a fake bank alert to buy laptop computers worth N4.6 million for a dealer identified as Kevin Otenuga.
The alleged fraudster was recently arrested in Abuja after he met one Chidinma Vivian Okwenna through social network platform where they interacted and exchanged contacts.
On 9th December 2021 he approached Chindima Vivian again at Wuse Zone 2, First Bank seeking for N5 million new notes that his boss is in need of it.
Immediately Chindima Vivian rallied round and was able to raise the sum of N3.5 million and handed it over to him and he subsequently generated fake bank credit alert of its equivalent through Zenith Bank acçounts and send it to her and he immediately took excuse and rushed out of the bank claiming to have meeting with someone. Immediately he stepped out of the bank he blocked the complainant from reaching him both on social platforms and mobile networks.
Meanwhile, after obtaining his account statement, it was discovered that he was having just N24, 000 in that Zenith Bank account on that day of transaction.
Thereafter, all efforts by the fraud victim and complainant to reach him proved abortive until she reported to FIB-IRT CENTRAL BASE and the suspect was tracked and arrested in Lokoja, Kogi State.
Upon interrogation, he confessed to have used the fake alert to purchased goods worth billions of naira adding that he had defrauded many traders in Lagos and other cities.
The suspect is said to have been on the wanted list of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and had undertaken interrogation waiting to be handed over to the Police team by the anti-graft agency for other crimes he reportedly committed.
Further checks revealed that the suspect is still in the detention facility of the anti-graft agency as he is expected to be sent back to the Police unit for further interrogation and prosecution by the EFCC.
The Inspector-General of Police IGP Usman Alkali Baba has therefore warned the public, particularly traders to be wary of the activities of fraudsters who use fake bank alerts to defraud citizens.
He equally assures the nation of diligent prosecution of all forms of electronic frauds in the nation’s law courts by the Police in his determination to rid the nation of all forms of crimes and criminal activities.
