Police in Lagos have arrested a 32-year-old employee of an oil company, Reuben Agboola for allegedly faking self-kidnapping so as to defraud his employer N19.5 million.
Mr Fatai Owoseni, Commissioner of police in Lagos State told newsmen on Sunday that the suspect’s employer requested him to withdraw $50,000 (about N19.5 million) from a bank, but gave out part of the money to a friend.
Owoseni said in attempt to defraud his employer, the suspect called his office that he had been kidnapped, informing the office that $15,000 had been collected from him by the robbers cum kidnappers. He said the suspect went into hiding pretending to be in the custody of suspected kidnappers.
The commissioner said after intensive search by the police, the suspect was finally arrested in Epe area of the state.
The suspect, Owoseni said, later confessed committing the crime. He said the police were doing everything possible to recover $15,000 out of the money.
Speaking to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the briefing, Agboola said that his company sent him to withdraw $50,000 being the company’s accounting officer.
Agboola who claimed to be into music, said one of his friends had a phone discussion with him while in the bank.
The suspect claimed his friend then informed him of a need of $15,000 (about N5.8 million) to sort out his deportation problem, from being sent back home from London.
”Immediately he told me he needed $15,000 out of the money, I don’t know what came over me, I started counting the money from the $50,000 I came to withdraw. ”He promised to send someone to come and collect the money. After counting the $15,000, I left the banking hall and went to the spot where the person who wanted to collect the money was already waiting for me. ”
Immediately I saw him, I handed over the money and my phone also. It was after he had gone that I regained my conscience; at that point I became confused I didn’t know where to search for the person. ”I don’t know what happened to me that fateful day, because that was not the first time I was sent to bank to withdraw money. ”I have withdrawn hundreds of thousands of dollars for the company before; I believe I was charmed,” he said
The suspect claimed after giving the money out, he was scared to return to his office, he decided to go to a primary school in Bariga to hide the remaining $35,000. ” I don’t want to take the money home because my wife would query me where I got such huge amount of money from,” he said.
He said after keeping the money in the school premises, he boarded a taxi to Epe to commit suicide, but later changed his mind when he got to Epe.
The suspect claimed he reported himself to the police about what happened in Epe, denying faking his kidnapping. “I only told the policemen that I went into hiding and nobody kidnapped me as I speak with you. I can’t fathom what really happened to me, because this is not the first time I would go to the bank,” he said.