By Ado Oyeyemi
The Jigawa State Police Command has arrested six suspects in connection with alleged fraud, cyber-related offences and the circulation of counterfeit currency across the state.
Among those arrested is a Point-of-Sale operator accused of allegedly using customers’ National Identification Number details to gain access to their bank accounts and divert funds without authorisation.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Shi’isu Adam, disclosed this in a statement issued in Dutse on Sunday, saying the suspects were apprehended in separate operations by police formations across the state.
According to the statement, operatives of the Yankwashi Divisional Police Headquarters arrested Isa Ahmad, 36, from Rano Local Government Area of Kano State, and Sunusi Abdurrahman, 52, of Saudawa village in Ingawa Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The two suspects were allegedly involved in a fraud case involving N10.33m belonging to two victims.
The police alleged that the suspects collected the money from the victims at different times after promising to provide them with United States dollars but failed to fulfil the agreement.
The command said a complaint lodged by the victims led to a discreet investigation, tracking and eventual arrest of the suspects.
The case has subsequently been taken before a court, according to the police.
In a separate operation, detectives attached to the Miga Divisional Police Headquarters arrested 21-year-old Ibrahim Haruna, a POS operator from Miga Local Government Area, over an alleged computer-related fraud.
The police accused Haruna of withdrawing N199,500 from a customer’s bank account and transferring the money into four different OPay accounts without the account holder’s consent.
Preliminary investigations allegedly showed that the suspect obtained the victim’s NIN details and used them to open a bank account without authorisation before carrying out the transaction.
The investigation further revealed that about 16 bank accounts belonging to different customers had allegedly been compromised using a similar method.
The command said the investigation had been concluded and the suspect arraigned before a court.
Police also disclosed that N50,000 in suspected counterfeit currency was recovered during the operations.
The Commissioner of Police urged residents to be more careful with their NIN details, banking information and other sensitive personal data.
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The command warned that careless disclosure of such information could expose members of the public to identity theft, unauthorised transactions and other forms of financial fraud.
