Five fake Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officers have been arrested in Kwara State for allegedly extorting money from petrol dealers.
The suspects were going round petrol stations in the Ilorin metropolis, pretending to be Civil Defence officers on national assignment from Abuja, according to the State NSCDC Public Relations Officer, Babawale Afolabi, who revealed this in a statement on Wednesday March 9.
According to Afolabi, investigations have begun to determine whether the accused are running a syndicate with other members in the state’s 16 local government areas.
The suspects, identified as Saheed Adedayo, 37, Muritala Oloruntoyin, 40, Emmanuel Ferife, 45, Abiodun Oluseun, 44, and Isaac Aluko, 43, all claimed to be members of the Importers Association of Nigeria and have been extorting money from unsuspecting petrol merchants, according to the spokesperson.
“On the 8th of March, 2022, at approximately 1422 hours, our anti-vandal unit led by ACC Yusuf received an intelligence report that some groups of men dressed in Civil Defence uniforms had been going around filling stations in Ilorin metropolis claiming to be members of the national task force on assignment from Abuja.” “After meeting the managers of the gas stations, they will take money from them because the petrol sellers believe they are officers of the NSCDC,” he stated.
However, luck ran out as they approached a filling station in Ilorin’s Amilegbe neighborhood when the petrol station’s management phoned the anti-vandal unit’s office. The five suspects were apprehended after the unit patrol team sprung into action.
“During interrogation, the suspects admitted to undertaking illegal duties while maintaining to be members of the Importers Association of Nigeria and travelling around filling stations to obtain intelligence reports,” he added.
Meanwhile, Makinde Ayinla, the state commander of the NSCDC, has warned petrol outlets and members of the public to be aware of unscrupulous elements who want to take advantage of the current fuel scarcity scenario to continue their illegal operations.
Before dealing with any group or individual claiming to be security operations, he recommended people to do their homework.
