The Department of Security Service (DSS) has apprehended two suspected fraudsters who specialize in sending threat text messages or letters to un suspecting individuals, business men and politicians, demanding huge sum of money from them.
The Director of SSS, Mr. Abdullahi Ahmed who disclosed this while parading the suspects arrested by his men in Maiduguri said “the perpetrators of such crime who operate in clichés, explored the security situation in the state to intimidate their targeted victims, while many masquerade as members of the Jamatul Ahlis Sunnah Lid Daawa wal Jiad issuing letters and text messages, asking their victims to comply with their demands or face death threat”.
He said leaders of the two different syndicates, Mohammed Garba, 39 was born and bred in Kano and Luka Dogonyaro 39, a dismissed police Corporal from Adamawa state were arrested while trying to execute their criminal acts.
He added that the DSS had embarked on a painstaking and careful trail of members of this syndicate which yielded positive results.
“The suspects specialize in extorting money from private individuals, business men and government functionaries at all levels, several of whom have their victims conned or intimidated into paying huge sums of money into the accounts given to them by the suspects”.
Mr. Ahmed stated that among the victims of the arrested suspects were present and past chairmen of local government councils in Borno state, including those of Biu, Bayo, Mafa, Hawaul, Kwaya-Kusar, Konduga, Mobbar, Bama, and Chibok local government areas.
The DSS boss therefore advised the general public to always exercise restraint in giving their personal account numbers to second and third parties, except to their trusted friends and relatives. He also called on receivers of such text messages not to pay money into any account, as paying such money will amount to the encouragement of the extortion and other crimes, stressing that those victims should instead report such cases to law enforcement agencies nearest to them for necessary action.
He advised that members of the Jamatul Ahlis Sunnah, Lid Daawa wal Jihad should consider dropping their weapons and to embrace dialogue, so that peace will reign in the land, adding that already, the Federal Government has offered the group the platform to express their grievances.
In an interview, one of the suspects Mohammed Garba admitted extorting money from his victims through threat text messages but denied being member of the Jamatul Ahlus Sunnah lid Daawa wal Jihad, adding that he has extorted money from so many people that he cannot remember their numbers.
While the other arrested fraudster, a dismissed police Corporal Luka Dogonyaro denied being involved in defrauding people but accepted that his account number was used by One Mamman who fled to Chad Republic to avoid being arrested.
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