A suspected fraudster, Abdulrahman Shuaibu, who is currently cooling his heels in police custody in Abuja, following a failed attempt to dupe a presidential aide, has blamed unemployment for his predicament.
The 21-year-old suspected fraudster said he relocated to Abuja from his hometown in Hong, Adamawa State, about a year ago in the belief that he could easily find himself a good job with President Muhammadu Buhari in power.
Shuaibu, who was paraded on Tuesday by the police alongside his accomplices, Isiaku Zambuk, 47, and Hassan Haruna, 35, explained that he met the gang members at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, and when he requested for their assistance, they asked him to join the gang instead.
He said, “Sometimes, we would visit a ministry and demand to see the minister. If he is too busy to attend to us, he may give us his business card and through it, we’ll get his number. I have made only N50,000 so far”.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunah, said, “The syndicate specialises in sending text messages and calling highly placed individuals such as ministers, senators, governors and captains of industries on the phone, demanding huge sums of money or else the victims should await grievous consequences if they fail to comply”.
