*commission warns hoteliers
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Fifty six suspected internet fraudsters are now in the net of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Ibadan zonal office
EFCC in a statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Tuesday stated that the 56 suspected internet fraudsters were arrested in Abeokuta, Ogun state.
The commission stressed that the 56 suspects were apprehended at their hideouts said to be a popular hotels in Abeokuta following ” verified intelligence backed by weeks of surveillance was nearly frustrated by the hotel owners who employed various antics, including shutting down power supply, to enable some of the suspects to escape arrest.”
According to EFCC, the arrested suspects are “Garfar Olamide Taiwo, Fadimaye Habeeb, Badmus Idris, Samuel Victor, Seun Fuad, Alli Isaac, Oyeleke Mubarak, Bolu Soetan, Koleosho Eniola, Saheed Abidemi, Olaewe Tosin, Ayedun Idowu, Oniyitan Ayomide, Akinlabi Precious, Gbadebo Sultan, Adeyemi Habeeb, Balogun Hassan, Sulaimon Ayub Damilare, Akinsola Usman,
The Commission gave names of the other arrested suspects as ” Ajibola Femi Sodiya, Ridwan Alani, Olusesi Lanre, Eniatimo Oludare, Taiwo Opeyemi, Akindele Kabiru Johnson Hammed, Idowu Gabriel, Adekanmi Adejumo, Peter Babatunde, Okeowo Sunday, Abudu Habeeb, Sabair Rasaq, Ademuyiwa Basit, Toriola Opeyemi, Babayode Abiola, Agbaje Habeeb, Sorinola Oluwatobiloba, Abiodun Elegbede, Kayode Daniel ,Lawal Alabi, Oyewole Korede, Aberuagba Gafar, Adekunle Emmanuel, Okunade Azeez, and Ojediran Sodiq.
It maintained that items recovered from the suspects to include ” ten exotic cars, dozens of mobile phones, laptops and several incriminating documents and that the suspects will be arraigned in court as soon as the investigation is concluded,
The commission however warned hoteliers across the country against allowing internet fraudsters to congregate or hibernate around their facilities, lamented the lack of cooperation by the hotel owners.
EFCC stressed that the action of the hoteliers which amounted to deliberate sabotage and obstruction of law enforcement officers, amounts to an offence punishable by Section 38 (2) (b) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.
Warning that EFCC will not tolerate situations where hotel owners or managers not only permit fraudsters to use their facilities but also deliberately shield them from arrest by frustrating law enforcement on such premises, it stressed that Section 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud And Other Related Offences Act, 2006 provides for a prison term of between five and 15 years without option of fine for any person who permits his premises to be used for any offence under the Act.
