EFCC arrests fake state house staff over alleged N22m employment scam

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)have arrested a syndicate of fake State House staff in Abuja for alleged criminal conspiracy, false representation, and employment scams.

Its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

He said operatives of the commission arrested the suspects separately following an investigation into petitions by victims, who were promised jobs in various ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).

The suspects, he said, promised the victims jobs as “Director-General” at the Ministry of Communication, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and other ministries.

The spokesman listed the suspects as including Augustine Umogboi, who claimed to be a former staff member of the State House, and Eleojo Idakwo, a fake staff member of the Ministry of Information in the Registry Unit.

Others are Kingsley Onuh, who also claimed to have just concluded his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Omata Sunday, and Eljayon Nigeria Limited, one of the companies whose bank accounts they were using to get money from their victims.

“Besides, they had different account numbers of different banks through which they were receiving the money amounting to N22,350,000 from different victims.

“Umogboi was arrested on June 16, Idakwo was arrested on April 30, 2024, while Onuh was arrested on April 3,” he said.

He said that the victims narrated their bitter experience in a series of petitions written to the EFCC, adding that “the suspects have given useful information to the EFCC and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation”.