It’s easy extorting money from job seekers, says suspect

A 39-year-old man, who has been laughing all the way to the bank after extorting money from unsuspecting Nigerians, under the guise that he would get them job into the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), has been arrested.

The suspect, Adewunmi Ajide Olayinka also known as Adewunmi Adeyinka Siaka does not posed as staff of NDLEA, he also tell some of his victims that he was in charge of selling auction vehicles for the agency.

Olayinka used to collect between N17, 500 and N40, 000 from members of the public. He also extorted the sum of N680, 000 from another victim for the purchase of two NDLEA auction vehicles and employment of his son.

The suspect said that joblessness pushed him into the criminal act.

The 1997 Ordinary National Diploma (OND) graduate of Business Administration hails from Ila-Orogun, Osun State. Olayinka used to sell CD’s in Abuja until his financial condition nosedived. His shop was demolished and he lost his home.

He said: “I told a man that I work with the NDLEA and that I can assist his son get job through on-going internal recruitment. He then gave me N40, 000. I discovered that it was easy for people to pay money for recruitment. That was how it all started. It was joblessness that made me to do it. I also collected money from a man that I will help him to buy Toyota Sienna and Toyota Camry at a very cheap price during NDLEA auction sales in Abuja. Some people paid money into my bank account while others paid cash.”

Chairman of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade said that the arrest will serve as a warning to other fraudsters.

Giade said: “The NDLEA is not conducting recruitment and will not recruit secretly. We are determined to deal decisively with fraudsters who defraud members of the public under the guise of employment or helping them to buy auction vehicles. Members of the public should learn from this case and avoid dealing with fraudsters.”

Giade said that the Agency does not conduct secret recruitment and called on members of the public to always confirm from the nearest NDLEA office to avoid being swindled.   

NDLEA investigation revealed that Olayinka had defrauded many victims under the guise of helping them to secure employment with the Agency. 

The tide turned against him when 10 victims visited the Ibadan office of the Agency requesting for information about the next batch of training at the NDLEA Academy in Jos slated for December 16, 2014.

Olayinka was eventually traced and arrested at a private location in Ibadan. Items recovered from him include curriculum vitae of applicants, Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment form and his international passport with the name Adewunmi Adeyinka Siaka.

NDLEA Oyo State Commander, Mrs. Omolade Faboyede stated that she was surprised as some of the victims came to the command asking for the details of training for newly recruited staff.