Igwe Gift Okechukwu, a bogus doctor, has been apprehended by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) for criminal conspiracy, identity theft, stealing, organ trafficking, cybercrime, fraud, cheating, impersonating, and many more.
Our correspondent gathered that the officers from the Force Criminal Investigation Department arrested him in Nasarawa State following the suspect’s fraudulent operations in Owerri, Imo State
The suspect, who posed as Henry Ovie, a neurologist just transferred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owerri duped a POS operator, Anita Chinwe Mathias, into inputting a code on the POS machine.
As a result, twenty-one million naira (N21,000,000) was removed from her account, prompting a police report.
Speaking during a news conference in Abuja, the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, revealed the circumstances of the arrest.
He described the suspect’s method of operation, in which he gained the victim’s trust, sent a large sum to her account, and later duped her into providing a code that enabled the illegal withdrawal.
Anita, the complainant, told Adejobi that the suspect used numerous names and phone numbers, masquerading as Igwe Richard and Ovie Henry.
“She proceeded to state that on September 11, 2023, the suspect tricked her into entering a code on her POS machine, which she did due to the trust she had for him.
“After the suspect left her place, she noticed that all the money in her POS account was withdrawn, which amounted to the sum of twenty million naira (N21,000,000), and all efforts to reach out to the suspect proved abortive.
“She also went to the Federal Medical Centre, where the suspect claimed to be working, to ask about him, and she was told that none of their symptoms doctors bear such a name. Immediately, she reported the case to the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja, where intelligent officers swung into action to arrest the suspect,” the statement reads in part.
According to investigations, the bogus doctor changed his phone number and relocated from Owerri to Lafia, Nasarawa State, where he was later tracked down and detained.
It was also discovered that the suspect is involved in organ trafficking and has connections to a person in Toronto, Canada.
Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector-General of Police, reaffirmed the force’s commitment to eradicating crime and guaranteeing community safety and security.
The Inspector General of Police informed Nigerians that a detailed investigation is underway and that all criminals engaged in this terrible act will be brought to justice and charged accordingly.