Police from the Ondo State Police Command, on Tuesday, paraded a dismissed soldier, Ayobami Onigbinde, who had been using fake bank alerts to defraud unsuspecting people of over N600,000 within few weeks.

Onigbinde, 28, who said he was dismissed from the Army Training School for using fake credentials to gain an admission into the military training school, was said to have duped unsuspecting member of the public.

The suspect, who admitted committing the offence said he engaged using fake bank alert to dupe people after he was sent out of the military training school.

He confirmed that he had used the fake bank alerts to buy goods in Lagos, Osun, Ogun and Ondo States, amounting to a large sum of money.

He said: “I was dismissed in the military. I was dismissed because I used fake credentials to get employment into the military. It was when I wanted to do pass-out parade that the Military Intelligence caught me. They detected that I used fake state of origin.”

“I got the apps of the bank. I told people that I am a soldier. I will tell them that I lost my ATM at Maiduguri during the war against Boko Haram and that I wanted to do bank transfer.

“I can use any bank app. I will send fake bank alert to the person. It was one of the persons I sent fake alert to that tracked my number and I was arrested. I made N600,000 in one month.”

Speaking during the parade, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Undie Adie said the suspect was arrested by a team of detectives from the Anti-cultism Squad Akure after a tip-off from member of the public.

He said Onigbinde was arrested along with one Aroyeun Oladayo saying the two suspects specialised in defrauding members of the public of their money or goods.

According to the Police boss, the duo, in perpetrating their act, would present themselves as Army officers and proceed to obtain either goods or money from their unsuspecting victims and generate fake electronic money transfer alert on their own phones which they show to the victims as proof of payment for what they collected.

He said the victims are usually deceived by believing that they will soon receive their credit alert as delays are often due to network problems.

The Police Boss said “upon interrogation, they confessed to have so defrauded one Eze Patrick and eighteen others.

“Some of the items they used the fake bank alert to purchase and were recovered from them included assorted clothes,, Hisense fridge, one Elepaq generator, one century stabilizer 5000 voltage, two wardrobes jeans trousers, T-shirts and shoes.

Aside Onigbinde and his accomplice, the Police Boss said “On Monday, policemen from Igbotako Division, were alerted by members of the public that armed robbers were operating along mile 49 Area, Ore-Lagos Express way, dispossessing commuters of their valuables and at the same time attempting to kidnap some of them.

He said the policemen swung into action and promptly mobilized to the scene and engaged the hoodlums in a shoot-out which forced the robbers to escape into the bush.

He however said, the Policemen pursued the criminals which led to the arrest of one Ibrahim Usman ‘m’ aged 19yrs from Bagudu in Kebbi State.

“He confessed to the crime and claimed that one Abdullahi led other group members namely; Umoru, Mohammed and Ibrahim from Kwara State for the operation.

“He also stated that they had been robbing and kidnapping members of the public in that area for a very long time. Items recovered from him include; One locally made single Barrel gun, three GSM phones and one packet of cigarette and cash sum of Seven thousand two hundred naira, (₦7,200).

The police boss, however, said the Police are on the trail of other fleeing suspects, saying the command is determined to rid this Highway of hoodlums especially kidnappers. (Nigerian Tribune)

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