The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has apprehended four individuals impersonating Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officers who were planning to abduct a victim and extort N150 million in ransom.
Commissioner of Police Waheed Ayilara identified the suspects as Emmanuel Augustine Akpayak, 27; Echem Ovurizichi Weneka, 27; Promise Udofia, 28; and Jeremiah Johnson Okon, 38.
Commissioner Ayilara revealed that the principal suspect, Emmanuel Akpayak, orchestrated the kidnapping scheme to evade a debt of over N12 million owed to the intended victim. The plan involved hiring armed men and procuring EFCC uniforms to facilitate the operation.
“Investigation revealed that Emmanuel Augustine Akpayak had arranged for the kidnap and killing of the would-be victim by engaging armed men and procuring EFCC vests/uniforms for the operation. The victim was invited, and a search conducted at the principal suspect’s house led to the recovery of four pairs of EFCC vests,” Ayilara stated.
The commissioner noted that the suspects intended to extort N150 million from the victim before killing him. However, the plot was foiled by the police.
In an interview, Akpayak admitted to owing the intended victim money from a business transaction involving car sales. He claimed that the victim hired “boys” who issued threats to him, prompting him to procure EFCC vests online and plan the abduction to force the victim to pay N150 million.
Additionally, the commissioner paraded suspects involved in advance fee fraud targeting POS operators in Uyo. One incident involved suspects Donald Ita Nyong, Rex Clement Uso, and Kingsley Mathias Joekim, who defrauded a POS operator, Glory Uko Okon, of N320,000. The suspects tricked Okon into giving them access to her POS machine under the pretense of making a withdrawal. They then swiftly withdrew the money and fled.
“On 21/06/2024 at about 7:00 pm, one Glory Uko Okon of Afaha Ikot Obio Nkan Village, Ibesikpo Asutan LGA, called in through the emergency hotline and alleged that Donald Ita Nyong, Rex Clement Uso, and Kingsley Mathias Joekim, POS syndicates, came to her POS stand at Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo, pretended to make a withdrawal of N10,000. While she made the withdrawal, one of the suspects gave her N3,200 to deposit into an Opay account. She tried three times unsuccessfully, and under pressure, handed the POS machine to the suspects to type in the account number. Before she realized, they had withdrawn N320,000 from her machine and quickly jumped into their waiting car and fled. The suspects were arrested, made useful statements, and have confessed to the crime,” the statement read.
The Akwa Ibom State Police Command continues to urge the public to cooperate with law enforcement by reporting suspicious activities to help combat crime in the state.
