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Oyo govt.  urges citizens to beware of phony travel agencies, job scams

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Oyo State Government has appealed to residents/citizens of the state to be wary of phony travel agencies, job scams and illegal tax collections, advising that any organisation or individual found culpable should be reported to security agencies.

The State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun gave the advice in a statement in Ibadan on Tuesday.

Arulogun said that the state government has been inundated with calls on its Ajumose Feedback Centre by victims of numerous scams in the state, stressing that the victims had been urged to report their cases to the security agencies while the government also investigate on its part.

According to him, “recently, numerous callers from across the state have been seeking for government help to retrieve money paid to some phony travel agencies for pilgrimage and employment abroad. The callers disclosed that these agencies asked them to pay large sums to facilitate their sojourn abroad for paid employment with no positive outcome over time.

“Some of these callers also asked the state government to investigate some recruitment firms who have swindled thousands of unsuspecting job seekers. They claimed that the scammers collected money from them and made them write exams and attend interviews.

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The Commissioner also revealed that the state government is addressing and investigating complaints raised by callers concerning the extortion by Principals and officials of some public secondary schools in state in the name of collecting tax from students, assuring that any individual found guilty would be dealt with according to civil service rules.

He reiterated that the government did not tax students but rather the students were asked to produce the tax clearance of their parents.

Arulogun said that initial investigations revealed that some school officials were allegedly accused wrongly while there are further investigations on the ones which needed follow up findings.

He urged the citizens to do background checks on travel agencies, recruitment firms and other service rendering firms before engaging them, noting that some of these firms engage in legitimate business and deliver on their promise.

He stated that the bad eggs among them are the ones denting the reputation of the credible ones, calling on media agencies to sieve the good ones from the bad ones whenever they need to promote such businesses.

“Our media organisations in the state have a major role to play in saving people from the hands of these scammers. They advertise their phony businesses in the media to the unsuspecting public. The media needs to verify the  legitimacy of such business and make them sign indemnities” Arulogun added.

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Crime & Court

Ex-Oyo PMS Boss, Auxiliary Paraded for Murder, Other Crimes

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Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Hamzat Adebola, on Thursday, paraded the former Chairman of the Park Management System, Lamidi Mukaila, commonly known as Auxiliary.

The arrest came following months of pursuit after the Department of State Services detained Auxiliary at his Olodo residence in Ibadan, the state capital, on the penultimate Tuesday.

Mukaila had been on the run since the police declared him wanted for his alleged involvement in a string of armed robbery, kidnapping, and murder cases.

Adebola, addressing the media while parading the suspect at the state police command, emphasised that Mukaila would face charges in court.

He stated, “Discreet intelligence-led search commenced for the sacked PMS chieftain with the help of technology, collaborative efforts with sister services and community policing, many locations were identified, traced and combed for months until his recent arrest in a concerted effort with our sister services.”

The Commissioner outlined the extensive list of exhibits recovered from Mukaila’s possession at his Diamond Hotel residence around Alakia-Isebo Egbeda under Egbeda Local Government Area.

The recovered items include one AK-47 Rifle, four AK-47 magazines, 84 live AK-47 Ammunitions, 19 pump-action rifles, one Barreta pistol, seven cut-to-size guns, one English-made Barrel Gun, 724 live cartridges, 25 cutlasses, Seven Jack knives, 33 mobile phones, one Samsung laptop, charms, one Mazda Bus, one Toyota Sienna, and a cash sum of N3,450,000.00.

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Continuing, the Police chief affirmed that Mukaila would be charged to court for the offenses committed.

He expressed gratitude to the public for providing credible information to help curb crime in the state.

Adebola also reiterated the commitment of the command to deal decisively with any criminally motivated individual or group aiming to regress the state into the historical dark ages of the “Wild West.”

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Crime & Court

Mother of 5 Convicted for Forging Late Abba Kyari’s Signature

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A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja has delivered its verdict in the case involving Mrs. Ramat Mba, a mother of five children, accused of forging the signature of the late Abba Kyari, former Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Presiding over the case, Justice Ibrahim Mohammad deferred Mrs. Mba’s sentencing until Thursday, the 16th of May, 2024. However, he directed that she be remanded in Suleja Correctional Centre.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had initially arraigned Mrs. Mba in June 2022 on a 5-count charge including cheating, fraud, and forgery, contravening various sections of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 200 and the Penal Code Cap 89 laws of Northern Nigeria.

During the trial, ICPC’s Prosecutor, Mr. Hamza Sani, presented evidence detailing how Mrs. Mba allegedly deceived job seekers by promising them employment with government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), National Space Research Development Agency (NASRDA), and the ICPC.

Specifically, Mrs. Mba was accused of fraudulently inducing a job seeker to pay N700,000 into her private account under the guise of securing employment at the National Space Research and Development Agency.

Moreover, documentary evidence revealed that Mrs. Mba forged a letterhead from the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President and Abba Kyari’s signature.

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The forged letter, addressed to the Chairman of ICPC, requested the recruitment of three individuals by the Commission.

However, a correspondence from the late Chief of Staff distanced his office from authorising such a letter.

In his judgment, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad convicted Mrs. Mba on counts 1, 2, 3, and 5, related to cheating and forgery, while she was discharged on count 4, which pertains to felony.

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Crime & Court

EFCC nets 64 suspected internet fraudsters in Osun raid {Photos}

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Investigators of the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, made a significant breakthrough on Wednesday, as they apprehended sixty-four suspected internet fraudsters in Osun State.

The crackdown targeted Ede, Osun State, where the suspects were allegedly engaging in various fraudulent activities.

According to Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media & Publicity for the EFCC, the arrests followed actionable intelligence gathered by the agency.

Among the items seized during the operation were 18 exotic vehicles, 18 laptops, 112 mobile phones, three PlayStation games, five motorcycles, and a trove of incriminating documents.

These seizures underscore the scale and sophistication of the suspected cybercriminals’ operations.

The EFCC stated that the suspects will face legal proceedings once investigations are concluded.

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