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| IGP Mohammed Adamu |
Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police
Special Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested Mr. Adamu Garuba, aka
Honourable Ibrahim, for allegedly defrauding a Chinese national of the sum of
N30.6million.
The IRT Unit, headed by a Deputy
Commissioner of Police (DCP), Abba Kyari, alleged that Garuba, working with his
sister-in-law Rita Waziri and others still at large, specialised in defrauding
contractors, interested in road construction contracts from the Kaduna State
Government.
The suspects were arrested after they
defrauded a Chinese Engineer, identified simply as Su of the sum of
N30.6million under the guise of assisting him to land the road construction
contract from the Kaduna State Government.
Su, residing at the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), Abuja, was approached in July 2018 by one Mayowa, a member of
the syndicate, now in jail over a separate fraud case. Mayowa intimated Su that
the Kaduna State Government was searching for contractors to rehabilitate a 14 Kilometre
Road at the Kagoro area of the state.
Mayowa, in his bid to convince Su that
the contract was genuine, brought in Garuba, who he presented as Honourable
Ibrahim, a serving member of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, who is also
the Chairman of Budget and Planning Committee of the House.
Playing his part smartly, Garuba informed
Su that he would have to register his company with the Kaduna State Public
Procurement Authority. He told him that the process of the registration was
N1.6m.
The Police said: “After Su paid the
N1.6million, Mayowa and Garuba invited him to the Kaduna State Government
Secretariat, Kaduna State. They took him to a makeshift office, which proudly
displays of pictures of members of the syndicate. The pictures captioned them
as representatives of the Kaduna State Government. Rita Waziri, whose picture
was also on the wall, played the role of the Commissioner of Works and Housing.
Another member, identified as Captain, presently at large, presented himself as
Commissioner of Finance. The sum of N28million was taken from Su after
negotiation of the contract. A fake contract awarding letter was issued to Su,
but a few months after the letter was issue, he became suspicious of the deal.
He contacted Garuba, complaining and demanding for a refund of his money. Garuba
lured Su to Kaduna State, where he was kidnapped and a ransom of N2million collected
from him before he was release.”
Su reported his kidnap and the
fraudulent activities of Garuba and his syndicate to the Inspector General of
Police, Mohammed Adamu. The IG instructed Kyari and his Unit to investigate the
case.
After weeks of investigations, the Unit
smashed the syndicate. In the course of investigation, it was discovered that Rita
is the sister-in-law of Garuba. Rita was first arrested and then led IRT
operatives to arrest Garuba.
After the downfall of the syndicate, Garuba
confessed to have received the sum of N15million as his share from the deal.
According to him, he used the money to build a house around a choice area in
Kaduna State. He also admitted to have given Rita N200, 000.
Garuba 51, married with four children,
said: “I went into fraud seven years ago. It was late Otunba Obanla from Lagos State, who introduced me to the
business. I met Otunba in a hotel at
Kaduna State, where he was drinking. We became friends. He taught me how to
defraud people looking for contracts. My first job was in 2013. I defrauded
Alhaji Sani of the sum of N200, 000. I took the money from Sani under the guise
of helping him to process the registration of his company at the Kaduna State
Tender Board, where he intended to procure road contracts.”
Garuba further said: “I also defrauded Alhaji
Tijani of the sum of N400, 000 in 2015. Tijani also wanted to procure contract
from the Kaduna State Government. I defrauded a Lebanese national of the sum of
N7million. However, I was not the only person that executed the job. I got
N1.5million as my share from the deal. I was arrested later by policemen from
the Kaduna State Police Command. After my release, policemen from the Federal
Anti-Robbery Squad Adeniji Adele, in Lagos State, came to re-arrest me. They
made me to repay the money I got from the deal to the Lebanese man.
“In July 2018, Mayowa brought the
Chinese man’s job. Mayowa told us that the Chinese man needed a road
construction contract. We collected
N1.5million from the man for the registration of his company, and then we took him
to Kaduna State Government House. We used the reception of an office to execute
the job. We were four that did the job. Rita, who is my elder brother’s wife
acted as the Commissioner of Works and Mayowa enlarged Rita’s picture, which he
hung beside that of the Kaduna State Governor and President of Nigeria,
Muhammadu Buhari. This made the venue of the operation to look like an office of
the Kaduna State Government. There was one
Captain that Mayowa brought into the game. The Captain played the role of the Commissioner
of Finance, Kaduna State. I acted as the Honourable member of the Kaduna State
House of Assembly.”
Garuba said that he and other members of
the syndicate told the Chinese man that the governor wanted him to rehabilitate
a 14 kilometre road at Kagoro area of Southern Kaduna. The Chinese was also told that he would first
have to construct a seven kilometre road, which will gulp N2billion.
“We told him that we would get five per
cent of the total cost as our share immediately he is mobilised for the
contract. We also showed him contracts’
agreements between his company and the Kaduna State Government. The man paid us
the sum of N28million. He stopped paying when he realised that he has been
defrauded,” recalled Garuba.
He added: “I got N15million as my share
because I was the person that organised the office that was used for the job.
Mayowa got N13million because he had other people, including the Captain to
settle. I was the person that settled Rita.
I gave her N200, 000. I used the rest of
my money to develop some of my landed property in GRA Kaduna State. I also
built a three bedroom flat in the same GRA.
I want to quit this business and I am ready to sell all my houses so
that I will raise money to refund the Chinese man. I feel very ashamed of myself, especially now
that I have a grandson. I don’t want him to know that his grandfather is a
fraudster.”
Rita claimed that she was tricked into
the crime. She insisted that her brother-in-law didn’t tell her that what they
were doing was a criminal act.
Rita, a trader, said: “I have never done
this before. It was my brother in-law that got me involved in this business. My
brother in-law is the younger brother to my husband. He was the person that
took me to where I snapped the picture at Banawa Shopping Complex in Kaduna
State. That was also where they enlarged the photo that was used at the office.
I introduced myself as the Commissioner of Works. After we exchanged
pleasantries, I told them that I wouldn’t be staying, that I was leaving for
another meeting. I left in Garuba’s car and headed straight to my house. Later that day, Garuba came and gave me N200,
000. He didn’t tell me that the money
was for the assistance I rendered to him
that day. I thought the money was just a gift.
I didn’t know that the Chinese man was defrauded of the sum of
N30.6million.”
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