Fake deputy governor of Lagos, Ondo arrested

Detectives attached to the Ondo State Police Command have arrested one Mr. Daniel Obasi for allegedly posing as the deputy governors of Lagos and Ondo states.

Obasi, described as a serial hacker, used to clone Facebook and e-mail accounts of top government officials, especially deputy governors.

Obasi confessed to cloning Facebook accounts on behalf of very important personalities in the country. According to him, he had used such accounts to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. The suspect was paraded by the State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Mike Ogbodu at the weekend.

The suspect confessed to have opened Facebook accounts for the state deputy governor, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo and his counterpart in Lagos, Dr Oluranti Idiat Adebule.

He said: “I’m from Imo State, but based in Port Harcourt. Yes, I opened separate accounts of deputy governors. I used the accounts to chat with people on the internet. I did not hack into their accounts; I only opened new accounts on behalf of them. I used the accounts to communicate with people.”

He said that frustration forced him into such an act. According to him, he was a businessman before it collapsed.

“I was doing cosmetic business before. Someone stole money from my shop. Since then, I have engaged in cybercrime. I have not been long in this business of cybercrime. I have only cloned accounts of Ondo and Lagos states deputy governors.”

The police however said that Obasi didn’t only clone accounts but also used to hack into the accounts of deputy governors, using special software.

The police revealed that thousands of naira had been paid into the suspect’s bank accounts through this scam.

According to police investigation, Obasi, using the cloned accounts, chatted with friends, siblings and political associates of the victims, telling them there was a contract to be given out by their state governments.

He told them to pay money into specific accounts to help facilitate the contracts.
The police boss said that Obasi was arrested after he impersonated and hacked into e-mail accounts of top government officials, duping unsuspecting Nigerians.

Ogbodu said: “Obasi and others at large hacked into the Facebook accounts of their victims by creating another code and thereafter block their victims’ access to their accounts. They would then begin to relate with members of the public, pretending to be the real owners. Efforts are on to arrest his accomplices!”