Posted by By OLUBUKOLA ADEBAYO on
A bid by a man to swindle a South African of the sum of $185,000 has landed him in the net of security agents.
A bid by a man to swindle a South African of the sum of $185,000 has landed him in the net of security agents.
Louis Ihegworo, 34, had forged documents, impersonating the chairman, African Development Bank (ADB) with a promise to credit his victim, one William Roux Mouton's account with the sum of $3.9 million if he paid a non-refundable fee of $185,000.
Ihegworo, who is a mere school certificate holder, also posed as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Secretary to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Accountant General of the Federation in his correspondence with his unsuspecting victim.
Other documents recovered from him include certificate of legality from the Federal High Court of Justice, letter from the Minister of Finance, and a document allegedly endorsed by the chairperson, Senate Committee on Foreign payments.
However, the end of the road came for the conman as officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) intercepted the documents at a TNT Courier Service after he had endorsed the relevant portions. He was consequently arrested by the NDLEA operatives, who also alerted the South African authorities.
The suspect disclosed that he used to sell vehicle parts until he was robbed of his capital on the way to the market to buy goods. The incident made him jobless for some time before he was forced into the fraudulent business. According to him, 'I entered the yahoo business just to survive after I was robbed of all my money. There is money in yahoo but one is not always lucky. Some times in two months you can make 200 dollars but we pray for a big catch."
Ihegworo hails from Umudim town in Ikeduru Local Government area of Imo State. He will soon be transferred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further necessary action, an NDLEA source said.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, said in a statement signed by the agency's public affairs officer, Ofoyeju Mitchel, that 'the country's image must be protected by all citizens. Save for my officers' timely intervention, the suspect's action would have negatively affected the reputation of the country. This is bad and must be condemned."