Is a top official of the Presidential Villa, Abuja (names withheld) involved in a case of extortion lodged by some students of University of Port-Harcourt (UNIPORT) and for which two suspects are now being held by the police, or was it simply a case of impersonation?
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This is a puzzle for the police to resolve after the President of the National Association of Akwa Ibom State Students, (NAAKISS), Rivers State Chapter, and a law student of UNIPORT, Udo Odud Joseph, and his colleagues in the association, alleged that the top Aso Rock official’s name was used to extort them of N480,000.
The bait was the N20 million allegedly donated by President Goodluck Jonathan to NAAKISS in aid of the inauguration of the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Sir Bassey Dan Abio, as the association’s Grand Patron.
Jonathan had been invited to the occasion as the Special Guest of Honour, and especially for appointing Abia, an Akwa Ibom indegene, as the NDDC chief helmsman.The two suspects were said to have been arrested on Friday, September 19 by operatives at Asokoro Police Station, Abuja as they attempted to collect another N560,000, being the balance of the N950,000 described as public relations money to facilitate the release of the N20million allegedly donated to NAAKISS by the president, from their victims.
It was not clear if the suspects were still being kept by the police.
Sunday Vanguard also could not obtain their statements to the police.
Meanwhile, the top Aso Rock official, whose name was used in the scam, denied involvement.
A report on the alleged scam by the NAAKISS leader, Joseph, for the attention of Jonathan, was reportedly copied to the Chief Security Officer to Mr President, Mr Gordon Obua.
Obua could not be reached to comment on the matter at press time.
The report, according to a source, however, insinuated there might be an insider’s collaboration in Aso Rock in the scam, notwithstanding the top official’s denial of involvement.
The students association leader narrated their story in the 54-paragraph report made available to Sunday Vanguard.
“I, on behalf of my association made a publication on Vanguard Newspaper of Monday, 11th August, 2014 on felicitation/appointment of our illustrious son, Sir Bassey Dan Abia as our Grand Patron”, Joseph wrote.
He continued: “On Tuesday 12th August 2014, one Mr. Timi Ekiyo, who introduced himself as the Personal Assistant (PA) to the MD of NDDC called me.
“He said the MD of NDDC asked him to call me regarding the publication of our association of Monday 11th August, 2014 to thank me. That I will be called later.
“After a week or so I called the said Timi Ekiyor and to ask him that the executive members of NAAKISS RSUST Chapter wanted to present a formal certificate of appointment to the NDDC MD as our Grand Patron.
“After some days, the PA (Timi Ekiyor) called and told me we should write formally and request for audience but put the date not later than 14 days precisely 3rd of September, 2014.
I also sought the advice of the said PA (Mr. Timi Ekiyor) that we intended to invite dignitaries to grace the occasion for us. He asked me to carry him along.
“Since we expressed our thanks to Mr. President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in our publication in newspaper for appointing our illustrious son, Dan Abia, as the MD of NDDC, we decided to invite Mr. President to grace the occasion.
“The DHL report of who received the letter of invitation of Mr. President: Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, as our Special Guest of Honour is hereby attached and marked exhibit 8. In the DHL report attached, is one Muyiwa that received the letter from the DHL personnel. From my conversation with the DHL personnel, I was made to understand that letter from DHL is usually received at the pilot gate at the Villa, State House, Abuja.
“On 29th August 2014 somebody called me on phone. He said our letter of invitation to Mr. President dated 18th August, 2014 had been received by the president. However, he said the president will not be able to attend the occasion because that date is a state council meeting day but he has approved N20m for the Association, as his own support. “I then asked him: `who are you?’ He said he is a top Presidency official (names and designation withheld).
I further asked him: how do we get this support from Mr. President? He said we had to go through the Accountant -General of the Federation.
“The first thing I did was to inform one of our outside Patrons, Elder Justus Ekere, staying in Abuja to investigate for me the following information:
(a)Whether there is a designation as that of the State House official.
(b)If so, what is the name?
( c)Whether if the president makes this kind of support to the association, the official was supposed to be aware.
Our Patron, with the assistance of his friend who works in the Villa, confirmed the information to be true.
.The following points made me to believe:
(a)The caller pin pointed my letter of invitation to Mr. President dated 18th August, 2014 which was not published but sent through DHL and could not have been known by anybody except an insider.
(b)The existence of the position of State House official which the caller said he is and was confirmed by our Patron Elder Justus Ekere with the help of his friend who works in the Villa to be true.
(c )The name of the official which the caller said is his name was also confirmed to be true.
(d)That the official was in position to treat such case was also true and confirmed.
(e)That the Accountant – General is also in position to pay the money.
‘Public relations’
“It was in line with this belief that I called the `official’ through the number he used to call me to guide me on how to go about collecting the N20m.
The ‘official’ told me that he knew that we are students and that it may not be easy for us to be coming from Port Harcourt to pursue the payment. He then informed me that he will help to arrange the payment, but we must do PR otherwise for one year that money will not reach our hands. I told him whatever is the PR they should deduct it from the N20m when they pay.
“The `official’ told me that in the Villa, every PR is paid cash. That is because many people had shown untruthfulness to them. After helping them to get what they want they show them their back.
“He told me that he would see what he could do but we should let him find out how much PR the people wanted to bring out the support of
Mr President to us. “He then called me and told me that there were three offices involved for the file to pass through for payment:
(a)The Chief Security Officer (CS0)
(b)The Office of Accountant – General
(c )The Office of the Director of Administration.
That these three offices, the PR is N950,000.00 .
He then said he will pay half of that money so that we also pay half. That when the N20m is paid we can re-emburse him for the half he paid and then we can appreciate him if we wanted for making things easier for us. He then said we should pay N480,000.
“He then sent the account number to me to pay, but the account holder’s name was not the name of the `official’ he said he is. I asked him that the account holder’s name is different from his name. He told me that the account holder’s name is the name of the personnel in Accountant – General office that will pay the money.
“I believed him and borrowed the money and paid in.
He started to communicate with me and asked me to prepare a proposal and bring to him. I prepared a proposal comprising seven items which are listed in the letter titled: Expression of thanks/creation of legacy for remembrance purpose.
Proposal
“The `official’ then invited me to come to Abuja with the proposal to collect the N20m. I went with my Vice President. The cost of what we spent in Abuja is N450,000 which we borrowed to pay back when we returned with the hope that we will get the N20m support of Mr. President.
“On reaching Abuja I called the `official’ who told me that I should wait as he was busy, that he will call us to come to the Villa when the N20m was ready. He said he was going to meet the Accountant – General himself to tell him that the President and Vice of the association were in Abuja for the N20m, he should help.
“He called me again to say he was sorry as the Accountant – General said the PR we did was for the office staff. That his personal PR is N560,000.. I begged him that I was not informed when we left Port Harcourt, he should plead with the Accountant – General to pay us and deduct from there.
He told me that he had earlier informed me that people in the Villa do not agree on that because of their experience of how people showed their back when they get what they wanted.
“It was then I reported the matter to our Patron Elder Justus Ekere and he linked us with his friend in the Villa.
They then paved way for me to see the ‘official’ in person on Friday 19th of September, 2014.
“On entering the office of the `official’ I introduced my self as the president of the National Association of Akwa Ibom State Students Rivers State Chapter (RSUST).
I told him that I came in respect of the appointment he gave me concerning the N20m support he informed me on phone that Mr. President donated to our association in respect of our invitation to him on the occasion of our formal presentation of certificate of appointment to Sir Bassey Dan Abia.
“He then told me that he was not aware of it. I brought out documents and showed him about the invitation of Mr. President and the number he usually used to communicate with me. He asked me to call the number in his office, which I did.
“The phone rang and the person who usually communicated with me in his name picked the phone and asked me where I was.
The authentic official told me that I could see that he was not the person that used to communicate with me. “I was disorganized but God gave me wisdom immediately.
went out of the official’s office and called the impersonator and told him that I called my people in Port Harcourt and told them what happened and they sent the N560,000 cash to me to ensure I pay him and come back with the N20m donation of Mr. President.
“He asked me where I was. I told him I was at First, Bank, A.Y.A. Asokoro Branch with the cash. But I was going to my hotel because I was afraid people may snatch the money from me. “He said he was sending his PA to come and collect the money and the proposal from me.
It was at that point the friend to our Patron went to Asokoro Police Station to get the police to arrest the impersonator while I was heading to my hotel to see him and played along with him until the police came.
“This was how we succeeded in arresting the impersonator’s PA who then led the police to arrest his boss. The two of them: the PA to the impersonator and the impersonator himself are in Asokoro Police Station, Abuja”.
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