Joy Anyim
The Police in Lagos State have arrested a five-man syndicate that specialise in defruading house seekers in the state.
The suspects were arrested by men of the Special Anti-Robery Squad of the Lagos State Police Command for defrauding their victims of N3. 9 Million.
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It was gathered that the suspects named; Matthew Adeniyi, Elabor Aruoya, Adesina Adegunde, Segun Adewale and Olamide Ojajinu pose as estate agents to exploit their victims.
The suspects who were praraded by Commissioner of Police Zubairu Muazu met their waterloo after they had swindled a newly wedded couple of N900, 000.
The couple it was learnt had seen an advert for a vacant house, called the number attached to the advert for enquiry.They were directed to another agent who they met at a church and made payment.
Having completed all that was needed to take over the house, the couple had gone to the house to take possession of it when the original owner caused them out.
Speaking at the parade of the suspects on Wednesday, Muazu said the suspect had also defrauded a pastor of N3million for a duplex in Ikeja GRA.
The Police Commissioner said, “ On February 15, 2019, Police received a complaint by a newly wedded couple that they saw an advert on a wall from a house agent. They called the phone number and the owner answered and introduced himself as a house agent but claimed to have travelled out of Lagos. He sent another phone number to them and claimed the owner of the phone number is his partner.
“ Later, they met with the partner who took them to Agidingbi area of Ikeja where he showed them an empty three bedroom flats. Thereafter, he made a call and informed the couple that the landlord was in church attending service and led them to a Catholic Church in Ikeja.
“ On arrival, an elderly man came out from the church hall and said to the victim, are you the lucky tenant? Having brainwashed the victim that he is the landlord to the house, he gave a GTB account number through which the victim paid the sum of N900, 000, unknown to the couple they were fraudsters.
“ The following day, when the couple went to the house they paid to take possession, they were chased out by the rightful landlord. They called the phone numbers of the acclaimed house agents and that of the landlord. Their numbers remained switched off.
“ The five suspects have been arrested and investigation revealed that the same gang of fraudsters on the December 15, 2018, collected the sum of N3 million for a duplex at Ikeja GRA in the same manner from a victim who is a pastor in Lekki.”
The 61-year-old Aruoya who had posed as the Landlord said, “ It is a business you don’t need an office to operate. I did not pose as the Landlord.”
The state police boss said the suspects will soon be charged to court.
