A 38 -year- old fraudster, Chief Sam Nwankwo (alias Barrister Nwankwo, Hon. Nwankwo, Governor Brother), has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for defrauding a 57 -year -old man, Mr. Collins to the tune of $243,000. In October last year, Chief Nwankwo who claims to be the Ogbuefi of Opokssi from Ohozarra in Ebonyi State, was alleged to have traveled to Abidjan, Cote D’ Ivoire to meet members of his syndicate namely; Michael Adekunle (alias Doctor), Kadjo Aneje (alias Jean De Baptist) and sold a dummy to the victim who had been living in that country for over 20 years.
The fraudsters went to the victim who is a businessman, with a proposal to help him secure a soft loan to expand his business. The victim who deals in petroleum products reasoned with them and agreed to collect the loan from Adekunle who was introduced to him as a United States of America-based physician. The introduction was done by Kadjo, a long time friend of the victim. And to make the loan offer irresistible, Adekunle promised to give the victim a $2.5million facility at the low interest rate of five percent. After the victim had accepted to take the loan, Adekunle told him that he had already secured the loan. To convince his prey, he showed him documents he purportedly used to secure the loan. But he said the victim could only access it if he agrees to pay the sum of $23,000 as commitment fee. The victim promptly paid.
After payment, Collins expected the loan to be given to him, but there was a twist. Instead, Adekunle told him that the money was in Swiss vault and that since the money was idle, the victim had to pay $100,000 as demurrage before the money could be released to him. Desperate to get the loan, the victim paid again. Not satisfied, the sucker demanded for additional $60,000 and promised that the expenses would be deducted from the loan.
After a while, Adekunle again told the victim that the fund actually belonged to one Chief Sam Nnamani and that for Chief Nnamani to release the money, the victim had to pay another $60,000 as agreement; assuring that within two days the money would be paid to him. Again, the victim complied.
But instead of paying the money, the story changed. Adekunle told the victim once more, that the money actually belonged to one late Justice Okeke (nee Nnamani), the sister to Chief Nnamani and that the Judge was poisoned because she used Nnamani as her next –of- kin. At this juncture the suspect, Chief Nwankwo emerged from the shadows, to play his part in this brazen script of trickery. He introduced himself as a younger brother to Chief Nnamani and late Justice Okeke and promised to use his influence and connection in influential circles to help him secure the loan. After visiting the victim in Abidjan and extorting some money in hard currency from him, he invited the victim who hails from Delta State to Nigeria ostensibly to facilitate the release of the loan. But as he was about to collect more money from the victim, he was arrested by operatives of the EFCC.
When confronted with these facts, the suspect claimed that he only took $3,900 from the victim in two installments and that the money was meant for his transportation to Abidjan. He confessed that he promised to introduce the victim to one Alhaji Attah who would have given the victim the loan he wanted but regretted that the victim could not meet the condition for granting the loan. He explained that he was to be paid $7,500 as commission for introducing the victim to the said Alhaji Attah.
When his house was searched, framed computer generated photographs he claimed to have snapped with prominent Nigerians like General Ibrahim Babangida and the former Inspector-General of Police Mr. Mike Okiro and others, were recovered. During interrogation, Nwankwo who lives in Enahoro Street, Lekki Phase 1 in Lagos confessed that he showed the photographs to the victim in order to convince him that he was well connected and influential. On how he came about the photographs, he claimed that the one he snapped with Okiro was taken in 2006, when Okiro was honoured at a reception in Night Shift Coliseum, Ikeja, Lagos; while the one with Babangida was purportedly taken in 2006 when he went with his group, Nigeria Youths Organization to persuade IBB to contest the presidential election in 2007. But looking at the photographs critically, it was discovered that he super-imposed his picture on those of the prominent Nigerians to appear as if he knew them intimately in order to convince his preys to part with their money, having already dropped the names of these prominent Nigerians.
Other items recovered from the suspect include multiple identity cards with different names and titles. In all the identity cards, he was decked in wig and gown, suggesting that he was a practicing lawyer. He even identifies himself as Barrister Nwankwo. In his ECOWAS passport, he wrote legal practitioner against the column for profession. In yet another of his identity cards, he called himself Honourable Sam .N. Nwankwo and the organization he represents as Sustainable Nigeria Youth Coalition. The other card bears Anti- Apartheid and Crime Bureau of which he is the Zonal coordinator.
On why he was dropping the name of prominent Nigerians, he said that he wanted to be great. He claimed to be a Law student of the National Open University (NOUN) Akoka, which was why he was wearing wig and addressing himself as a barrister. But when he was asked his faculty at the University he said he was in the faculty of criminal law. He offered that he was a used car dealer and foodstuff seller at Oshodi, before veering into the lucrative line of fraud. He was arrested March 22 and detained on a court order.
Further investigation into the matter continues.
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