Juliana Francis
A woman, identified as Rakiya Musa, who allegedly has been posing as a Customs Officer, has been arrested by police operatives attached to the Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos State.
Items recovered from Musa following her arrest are an Identity card showing her as a Customs Officer and a Customs officer’s uniform.
Zonal Police Public Relations Officer, a Superintendent of Police, SP Hauwa Idris Adamu, said that the downfall of Musa started on the 12th of April 2023, following a petition written by Josiah Kashim Utenwojo and Dominic Okoh Henry to the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police Zone 2 Command Onikan Lagos against Musa.
According to Adamu, Musa who claimed to be an officer of the Nigerian Customs Service in charge of the Public Auction Unit at Tin Can Port, Apapa Lagos.
She lived in the Nigeria Air Force Mess Apapa for three months, thereby making her victims believe she is a Customs officer.
Upon receipt of the petition, the AIG Ari Mohammed Ali immediately detailed some crack detectives attached to the Zonal Criminal Investigation Department to investigate who immediately swung into action.
Adamu further said: “After a detailed investigation, it was revealed that the victims were introduced to Rakiya Amusa by Akinwande Kayode, a retired Naval officer, that she should help them procure Auction Vehicles from the Nigerian Customs Service.
“Based on the foregoing, the sum of N3,200,000 was transferred to Rakiya’s UBA personal account. Immediately after the fund was received, she became incommunicado, and it then dawn on them that they had been swindled and all efforts made to reach her proved abortive.”
The image manager explained that after a painstaking investigation, Musa was arrested at Abuja where the Customs ID card and Customs Clearing Agent ID were recovered from her, and she was brought to Lagos for proper investigation.
She stated: “During the investigation, she confessed to have been impersonating a Customs Officer to defraud unsuspecting members of the public and that she has been in the business for over 15 years. She also claimed to have given the sum of N1,000,000 to her boyfriend Akinwande Kayode from the N3,200,000 fraudulently obtained from the victims.
“In light of the foregoing, the public is advised to be wary of the antics of this fraudster who has been swindling unsuspecting members of the public of their money. The investigation is still in progress and the suspect will soon be charged to court on completion of the investigation.”
