Two Fake Federal Civil Servants Remanded For Allegedly Defrauding Six Customers of N21m

BY PAUL IYOGHOJIE

Two suspects who claimed to be staff of the Federal Government Youth Economic Intervention Programmes, YEIDEP —Susan Great, 52, and Raphael  Onaiwu Iredia, 42—  have been arrested by the operatives of the Nigeria Police Zone 2 Command, Lagos and dragged before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court for allegedly defrauding six persons of a total sum of N21 million.

Police identified the victims complaints as Frances Awero; Oshiomhi Paulinus Osiyemere; Raphael Ohis Afemkhiku; Efedi Godwin Bob; Osasere Courage Adoghe and Osasere Denis Adoghe.

Police claimed that the defendants allegedly introduced themselves to the six complaints that they were staffs of the Federal Government Youth Economic Intervention Programme and working directly with the National Coordinator of the Programme, Comrade Kennedy Iyere.

They allegedly collected the sum of N3.5 million each from the complainants with the pretext of using the money to sponsor them to participate in the Federal Government Programme tagged 2025 YEIDEP UK Agro-Food Investors Conference, a claim the Police said the defendants knew to be false.

Police alleged that trouble started for the defendants when they could not fulfil their promise and did not refund the money back to the complainants.

The complainants petitioned the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG in charge of Zone Command, Lagos, AIG Adegoke Fayoade who swiftly directed his crack team to arrest the defendants.

After investigation by Inspector Kazeem Oladipo and his team, the defendants were charged before the Igbosere Magistrate’s Court at the Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos Island on an eight-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false and stealing.

Police Prosecuting Counsel, DSP Francis Igbinosa told the Court in the charge marked A/63/2025 that the defendants committed the offence on 7 January, 2025 at 35, Igando Road, Ikotun, Lagos.

Igbinosa informed the court that the defendants deliberately tricked the complainants and collected the money from them to sponsor them to the UK to participate in the Agro-Food Investors Conference knowing full well that they don’t have any relationship with the program and more importantly the defendants were not profile for the program.

He said the defendants failed to refund the money to the Complainants when they demanded for it leading to their arrest.

He said the offences, the defendants committed were punishable under sections 411 314(3), and  280, 9,b, of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2025.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges and Chief Magistrate O.O Olatunji granted them N5m bail each with two surties each in like sum.

Olatunji adjourned the case till 1 August, 2025 for mention and ordered that the defendants be detained at the Kirikiri and Ikoyi Correctional facilities till they perfected the bail conditions.