From legal counsel to victim!

Disclaimer:

I had in a previous post erroneously stated that the suspects in the below charge had been sentenced. They haven't. (So I can't give information beyond the activities leading up to the arrest of those involved). As a firm believer in second chances, I have replaced the real names of the fraudsters in the below narrative. Since the people involved are quite young (between the ages of 17-25) and the charge pending in Court (maybe I'll do something on the length of time it takes to conclude a trial in Nigeria some other time). The name of the indicted Senior Officer has also been anonymized.

Prologue

Sometime last week in-between my daily work schedule, family commitments and preparation for my Audit and Assurance exams, I happened upon an article by Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe. Prof is a cult-figure of sorts for tech enthusiast like me and I thoroughly enjoy his perspective on everything. Prof lamented at the knee-jerk attitude of the primary anti-graft Agency in Nigeria, EFCC (the Economic and Financial Crimes "Commission"). This was at the wake of the criminal indictment of 77 Nigerians in the US by the FBI for fraud related offences. I remembered commenting in defense of the Commission. EFCC had in fact been at the forefront in the fight against graft in Nigeria. I have been involved, as counsel, in protracted criminal trials involving the commission. I am presently part of the defence team in about eight pending charges in Nigeria against the EFCC. However, what I’m about to share goes beyond the courtroom. I am in fact a victim in this scenario.

One Click is all it takes!

It was 2016 and the weeks leading up to the CIArb (Chartered Institute of Arbitrators) Nigeria Branch’s Annual General Conference scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt. I had planned to attend the conference with my friend and associate Asiwaju Omoniyi Johnson Odeyemi (OOJ). I was swamped as counsel in an extensive criminal trial at this time so OOJ was kind enough to handle the logistics involved in securing our attendance at the CIArb Conference. I had switched on my phone after leaving the Federal High Court that rather sunny afternoon. A message popped up from OOJ, ‘Urgent. Kindly call me as soon as you are through in court’.

He had logged onto the website of Air Peace to purchase our flight tickets. The website had displayed a ‘temporarily unable to process online payments at this time’. He was then directed to call a certain number. The number prompted him to proceed to the nearest Bank ATM and call the operator for further instructions. When he got to the ATM the operator directed him to make the transfer and await the e-tickets! It’s been over 2 hours and no e-tickets had been issued.

One glance at the website www.airpeacebookings.com showed no security feature. (I had read it somewhere that a secured lock sign is displayed at the URL bar of most websites designed to accept payments). We’ve been duped!

A stitch in time

We quickly devised a plan. We got the suspected frauster’s account details across to a colleague at the Central Bank of Nigeria. She got us the Bank Verification Number attached to the account. Without divulging too much, once you had the BVN of a person you pretty much had the phone number and house address (even picture with fingerprints inclusive).

That evening once settled at the office, as I recall, I placed a call across to the fraudster and I remember having a Liam Neeson moment in Taken.

‘Hello,’ I said into my phone in the toughest tone I could muster.

‘Who is that?...’ responded a youthful voice on the other end with some background chat…

‘Mr. Samson (not the real name)… You received a credit of N195,000.00 today…’

‘Ehen…’ I noticed that the noise in the background had reduced.

‘Look here sir… that money belongs to me and my colleague. Just return that money so we don’t begin a process that will ensure we get you apprehended. We happen to be very good lawyers and I can promise you that we shall get you…’

There was a raucous laughter in the background.

‘Mr. Lawyer,’ he responded… ‘and how do you intend to do that?’

‘Aren’t you surprised I got your number?’ I responded. ‘I can get you I promise. Just return the money and we’ll pretend this never happened’

The line clicked. He hung up.

I noticed I was sweating.

We initially decided to let it all go. The amount involved was not substantial enough. 

The last straw that broke the Camel’s back!

Since I had been attending CIArb Nigeria Branch’s Conferences the 2016 Port Harcourt Conference remained the most memorable! The Governor of Port Harcourt treated us like royalty. We had two grand dinners to conclude the two-day event. The event was a comic relief sort to the tragic prelude. Conference finished. At the departure lounge of the Airport. We met a woman and two kids crying. What happened! They too had been duped in the same manner. Unlike us, she couldn’t immediately come up with another flight fare!

I remembered me and OOJ looking forlorn and resolute on the flight back to Lagos! We had to do something about this. So we formulated a plan. I must credit OOJ for his resolve throughout the entire process. He was the major driving force behind the entire process.

Busting a Syndicate!

A careful perusal of the duplicated website of Air Peace used by the fraudsters showed an MTN number as the Admin line. A simple google-search of the number revealed several similar duplicated websites. Several examination bodies and airlines had been duplicated by the syndicate!

Our findings were carefully drafted in a petition to the EFCC. We were able to demonstrate to the Commission that they were dealing with a syndicate. This was quite important as the Commission only dealt with large sums of money or a small amount of money involving a potential syndicate situation wherein the amount involved could become huge when aggregated.

We received a call from the Commission within days that our petition had been approved and that we should make ourselves available. We had proceeded to the Commission after the usual court trial the next day. I remembered we were still dressed in our court tunic and striped cotton pants. As a complainant your first encounter with the Commission was to answer a few questions pertaining to your petition. You’ll also volunteer a formal statement which signals the official commencement of investigation.

It was at the end of the process that we were introduced to the Team Lead assigned to our case. Abubakar Omede! I shall unveil the personality of this fine Officer in a moment. But I recollect that he found it amusing that even lawyers aren’t beyond the reach of fraudsters! He was also impressed with the level of work we’d already conducted so far.

The Wheel of Justice grinds slowly, but surely

Days turned to weeks and a few months went by. We had already lost hope. Come on guys. There are no CCTV cameras in Nigeria. These guys could be anywhere. We had almost totally forgotten about the whole case when OOJ informed me that Omede had summoned us to the Commission. We rode together in the same car amidst tension in the air. Omede said he had good news and bad news. Good news, our indicted suspects had been tracked to a Police Station in Edo State, Nigeria. Apparently the suspects had committed another offence and their names came up in the tracking system. A team led by Omede was dispatched to Edo State. Bad news. At Edo, and before all papers and authorization could be obtained from the Police Command there, the suspects had been released! The Police Station denied ever having any such named suspects in their custody.

Omede with his extensive experience in the Nigeria Police had discreetly visited the Police Station where the suspects were kept before notifying the Edo Police Command of his mission and obtained evidence that the suspects were in fact in the custody of the Police Station! Our case suddenly became complicated. Omede advised us to write the Inspector General of Police at the time and supply him all the facts.

Back at the office we drafted another petition addressed to the IGP. All the details leading up to the activities of the EFCC in Edo State was stated including the role played by the Police Station in question. This petition was sent through DHL with a ‘Confidential’ sticker attached to it (this is a trick calculated to ensure that the IGP himself treated the letter).

A few weeks later we received another phone call from the Edo State Police Command. We were told to report at the Edo State Police Command to supply further particulars. At this point my wife (and indeed OOJ’s wife) was concerned for my safety! You just can’t go all the way to that place! What if something bad happens to you guys!

‘Nobody taught me this in law school!’

To be clear. The risk involved in the entire process at this time had grown exponentially. We were about to take a flight to Edo State and lay a criminal allegation against a top Police Officer in the State for aiding and providing cover to alleged criminals! It’s like walking into a Lion’s Den to complain about a cub!

We took the following precautions. First we booked a popular hotel in Edo State using our real names. However, the clerk at the office had secured another hotel reservation in his own name (this was where we slept). We also traveled using the Chamber’s ID (specially created for this purpose) which only had our middle names and surnames. We were known on first name basis. We wore jean jackets with two shirts underneath in case we had to change our appearance in a hurry. We also had caps on to conceal our identity. Also I remembered that the hotel booked by the Chamber’s clerk was within walking distance to the airport. Just in case we had to make a dash for it!

Finally we prayed! I remembered telling OOJ on our way to the airport that whoever thought I was called to the Nigerian Bar to become 007!

Things went rather smooth in Edo. The Commissioner of Police at the time was quite angry at the Senior Police Officer and I recollect him saying repeatedly, ‘Is this what you were taught at the Police College? To allow EFCC suspects escape? You’re in serious trouble my friend!’

We supplied all the facts within our knowledge to the Edo State Police Command including evidence that the suspects were in fact within the custody of the officer before they were released.

I do not wish to dwell too much on this aspect but one final information regarding this. OOJ was called by an anonymous number and told to drop the case in exchange for a sum of two million naira a few days after our trip!

The Day of reckoning

It was a weekend. I and OOJ had gone to see a movie to let out some steam from the busy week. Omede had called us. Our suspects had been apprehended and were being transported to the Commission for handing over. Seems like the Senior Police Officer had decided to cooperate with the Commission.

I remembered how excited we were to walk into the Commission that day. I remembered telling the young boys aged 17 – 25, ‘Who did I speak with the other day?’

‘I-I-I sssir,’ he stuttered.

I told him to repeat to everyone what I told him would happen if he didn’t refund the money.

‘You ssssaid you will catch us sir,’

Then I burst out laughing. It was my turn to laugh.

We decided it was best OOJ stood as witness in court because the money proceeded directly from his account.

It was an awkward day in court. Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court was shocked when he saw OOJ take to the witness stand.

I am not permitted to dwell further on the case.

Epilogue

The kingpin in this syndicate is still at large. Success! That's his name. Success recruits and trains young boys into the con game. He opens several bank accounts in their names and gives them a paltry share in the proceeds.

Abubakar Omede is an officer dedicated to the prevention of crime. He was pulled out of retirement by the present Chairman of EFCC to train and provide on-the-job experience to the Special Fraud Unit. However, I learned that Omede broke his leg sometime last year whilst trying to prevent a suspect from taking flight. He’s back in his village with his wife.

I inquired if we could raise some funds for him from a friend at the Commission and he responded,

‘We don’t take any form of gratification from anybody at the Commission. Omede is a special breed! He won’t take anything from you…’

Whilst we might condemn some bad eggs in the Nigeria Police Force I believe we ought to commend the Omedes for their gallantry and for believing in a better Nigeria.