The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission [ICPC] has smashed a syndicate that specializes in duping unsuspecting members of the public in Adamawa State through offers of non-existing jobs and contracts.
The crackdown on the contract scam syndicate, which followed a report from the state’s immediate past Attorney-General, Bala Sanda, to the Commission, led to the arrest of two suspected kingpins, Chuks Arinze in Abuja, and Ahmed Dapellu in Yola, Adamawa State, with three other suspected members still at large.
The syndicate’s modus operandi [mode of operation] is forging of official documents of ministries, departments and agencies of the Adamawa State government and using same to defraud unsuspecting members of the public with bogus contracts and job offers.
In the course of the investigation of the ex-AG’s report, ICPC officials conducted a search of Arinze’s home in Abuja and found incriminating contract documents that led him to confess to allegations of forgery and fraud.
He confessed to having defrauded two contractors, Jimoh Jinadu Momoh and Bonny Kalu, of a total sum of N4 million amongst others, and to forging the contract documents himself.
In making his report to ICPC, the ex-AG had told the Commission that the state government had received numerous complaints of the activities of the gang.
He revealed further that the fraud was uncovered when Momoh and Kalu came to Adamawa State to verify the authenticity of the contracts offered to them by the gang.
The ex-AG added that many companies have also fallen victim of the gang, losing large sums of money to them, because they actually use genuinely advertised government contract as baits.