The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Nuhu Dahiru for allegedly impersonating an EFCC operative and obtaining N3 million from unsuspecting members of the public under false pretences. The arrest was made by operatives of the commission’s Maiduguri Zonal Directorate in Tashan Bama, along Bama Road, Maiduguri, Borno State, North-east Nigeria.
Arrest and Recovery of Funds
According to a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Monday, Mr Dahiru’s arrest followed credible intelligence that he had been parading himself as an EFCC officer and using that false identity to defraud members of the public. Upon his arrest, the commission recovered N3 million from the suspect.
The EFCC stated that Mr Dahiru would be charged in court after the conclusion of investigations. The commission did not provide further details about the methods used by the suspect or the number of victims involved.
Previous Cases of Fake EFCC Officials
The use of fake EFCC identities by criminals is not new. In 2024, the police in Niger State arrested five people who allegedly posed as EFCC officials and abducted two students of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai. According to a report, the suspects entered an off-campus students’ lodge, forced the two students into a Toyota Corolla, and took five phones from them.
The police said the suspects used three electric tasers as guns during the operation and later demanded N10 million from the students before reducing the demand to N500,000. Other students alerted the police, who mobilised and trailed the vehicle to Suleja Road by Kwakuti, where three of the suspects were arrested. One of them, identified as Alfa James, reportedly escaped. The police also stated that the suspects had fake EFCC identity cards which were produced at a shop in Nyanya, Abuja.
The Niger State Police spokesperson at the time, Wasiu Abiodun, said the suspects confessed during interrogation that they had been invited by their informants and that the activity was their means of livelihood.
Similar Incidents in Lagos and Adamawa
A similar case was reported in Lagos in 2019, when the police arrested a 29-year-old man, Emeka Emmanuel, for allegedly posing as an EFCC operative and defrauding people with promises of securing jobs for them at the commission. Mr Emmanuel was arrested by the Ojo Police Division after allegedly collecting N51,000 from a man, Olaposi Semiu, whose son he had promised to help secure an EFCC job.
Around the same period, a suspected fake EFCC official was arrested in Adamawa after allegedly attempting to defraud the Majority Leader of the state House of Assembly, Hassan Barguma. The suspect, identified as Simon Bolki, allegedly approached the lawmaker in his office and claimed to be an operative of the commission’s Intelligence Unit. He was arrested after presenting a fake EFCC identity card.
EFCC Warning to the Public
The EFCC has warned members of the public against fraudsters who impersonate its officials, particularly those who demand money or offer fake employment opportunities in the name of the commission. The commission urges citizens to verify the identity of any individual claiming to be an EFCC operative and to report suspicious activities to the authorities.
