No fewer than four fraudsters allegedly operating illegal websites to dupe unsuspecting WAEC candidates have been arrested by personnel of the Nigeria Police.
Briefing newsmen on Friday, Force spokesperson, CSP Jimoh Moshood, said the arrest followed a petition by WAEC authorities which prompted police to swing into action, after painstaking and meticulous investigation that spanned several weeks.
Those arrested are:
i. Chijoke Onwuachu Modestus ‘M’, a 300 level student of Computer Science Micheal Okpara University, Umudike was arrested at Umuiahia and confessed to have collected ₦400 per paper from numerous candidates, to the tune of seventy thousand naira (#70,000)
ii. Samuel Odinaka Onwurah age 20 years old ‘M’ was arrested at Kutunku extension layout in Gwagwalada, Abuja and has collected the sum of ninety thousand naira (#90,000) from various victims.
iii. Patrick Uchechukwu Nwodo ‘M’ 30 years old was trailed and picked up at Abakpa, Nike in Enugu. He has also collected the sum of forty thousand naira (#40,000) from unsuspecting victims.
iv. Okon Effiong Joseph ‘M’ who is 20 years old 200 level student of Public Health Department University of Calabar, he was arrested at Calabar. He has collected the sum of one hundred and twenty thousand naira (#120,000) from different candidates.
According to Moshood, “At the commencement of the examination, the Council observed that some individuals were operating criminally inclined “rouge’ websites, under different names, soliciting for candidates sitting the examination, to pay money into their bank accounts, in exchange for the provision of worked solutions/answers to questions of subjects being taken on any particular day as the examination was in progress.
“Consequently, upon receipt of a petition by the Authorities of West African Examination Council (WAEC), alleging that some fraudsters were operating illegal websites under different names soliciting for candidates in the February/May 2017 West African Examination Council (WAEC) to pay certain amount of money into bank account in exchange for posting of worked solutions and answers via WhatsApp at about 20 or 30 minutes into the commencement of each paper and in the process fraudulently and dubiously dispossessed their unsuspecting victims of their hard earned money.”
He said the suspects will be charged to court on completion of investigation, while effort is being intensified to arrest other operators of these illegal/rogue websites still at large.
