Babatunde Fashola

According to a report by PREMIUM TIMES, Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Works and Housing, has explained how a suspected fraudster allegedly hacked his online account for six years to commit internet fraud.

Mr Fashola, however, said he was not the direct victim of the fraud, valued at N3.1 million by the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

Mr Wakili is being prosecuted at the Federal High Court in Lagos State.

PREMIUM TIMES on Monday reported how the EFCC arraigned Mr Wakili before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke for allegedly impersonating Mr Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State, with an intent to gain N3.1 million monetary advantage to himself.

He allegedly fraudulently used Emirates Airline rewards, belonging to the minister, and valued at N3.1 million.

The EFCC said the offense is contrary to sections 15(2)(a) and 27(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and punishable under sections 15(3) and 22(3)(a) of the same Act.

In a brief statement on Monday, Hakeem Bello, Mr Fashola’s spokesperson, said the minister neither knew nor transacted any business with the suspect.

He also explained that the amount being mentioned was the worth of Air Miles which the suspect derived from fraudulently hacking into his internet account and creating a false identity with which he, among other benefits, bought first-class tickets to various parts of the world.

Read the full statement below

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, has debunked recent Social Media reports that he was defrauded of the sum of N3.1 million by a Yahoo Boy who is currently being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Setting the records straight on Monday, the Minister, who said he neither knew nor transacted any business with the suspect that involved or would have led to his being swindled, explained that the amount being mentioned was the worth of Air Miles which the suspect derived from fraudulently hacking into his (Minister’s) internet account and creating a false identity with which he, among other benefits, bought first class tickets to various parts of the world.

Having persistently hacked into the accounts for over a period of six years, the suspect was tracked by the minister until enough evidence was gathered which was then passed on to the security agencies.