Harboursandport.com: Lagos - Five Covid-19 certificate forgers have been arrested and paraded by the Nigeria Police at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Two members of the syndicates are, however, still at large.
The paraded suspects, Achibong Idonrenyin, Moses Samuel, Popoola
Adewala, Wale Aderele, and Abdulmalik Ibrahim, according to the police,
specialise in selling fake Covid-19 negative certificates to unsuspecting
travellers within the international wing of the Lagos airport.
Other suspects at large are Shehu Imam and Adeola Darlington who work
with Sky Blue Services limited, cleaning service at the airport.
Briefing journalists yesterday (Thursday ) in his office at the airport,
Mr. Bature Umar, the Commissioner of Police, Airports Command, said that the
incident occurred on February 19, 2021, at the airport when a British Airways
passenger, Michael Osagbogun was defrauded of the sum of N50,000 for Covid-19
test.
According to the Commissioner, one of the suspects had approached
Osagbogun promising to produce a Covid-19 test negative certificate for him.
" Two of the suspects, Popoola Adewale and Adeola Darlington, who
knew the airport environment well due to the nature of their jobs at the
airport took the victim to one of the toilet facilities at the airport where
the sum of N50,000 was obtained from him under the pretext of producing a valid
Covid-19 negative certificate for the victim."
Umar further explained that one of the suspects took the victim
to DAT Cybercafe at No. 4, Oriyomi Street, Ikeja where a fake Covid-19 negative
certificate was eventually procured for him.
" But despite the payment of the sum, the victim who was on
his way to London, United Kingdom was denied boarding by the officials of the
airline based on the fake Covid-19 negative certificate he presented at the
counters."
"The victim immediately raised the alarm, which led to the
arrest of four suspects and a guarantor to one of the two suspects at
large," he said.
Umar also explained that the combined team of Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) and Aviation Security (AVSEC), a department in the Federal
Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) layed ambush for the suspects before they
could be arrested.
On interrogation, Umar explained that the suspects confessed to the
crime, but claimed that it was their first time of engaging in the criminal
activity.
He, however, said that further investigations by the police revealed
that the suspects had been in the heinous crime for several months.
He said: “Upon interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime and
the sum of N50,000, which they obtained from the victim was recovered from
them, while the computer used for the crime has been impounded and will be used
as an exhibit in the court of law.
“The passenger as far as we are concerned is a victim. He was the one
that reported the case to us after he was denied boarding by the officials of
the airline. So far, the suspects are providing information that will aid
investigation to the police.”
He said that the suspects would be arraigned in a court of competent
jurisdiction on Friday.
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