Jigawa police arrest six over alleged fraud, counterfeit currency

The Jigawa State Police Command has arrested six suspects over alleged fraud, cyber-related offences, including a Point-of-Sale (POS) operator accused of using customers’ National Identification Number (NIN) details to withdraw money from their bank accounts.

Police Public Relations Officer, SP Shi’isu Adam, disclosed this in a statement issued in Dutse on Sunday, saying the arrests were made in separate operations across the state.

According to the statement, operatives attached to the Yankwashi Divisional Police Headquarters arrested Isa Ahmad, 36, of Rano Local Government Area in Kano State, and Sunusi Abdurrahman, 52, of Saudawa village, Ingawa Local Government Area of Katsina State, over alleged fraud involving ₦10.33 million.

The police alleged that the suspects obtained the money from two victims at different times under the false pretext of producing United States dollars for them, but failed to fulfil their promise.

“After receiving the money, they reportedly failed to deliver the dollars as agreed. A complaint was lodged with the police, which led to a discreet investigation, tracking, and eventual arrest of the suspects,” the statement said.

The command added that the case had been charged to court.

In another operation, operatives of the Miga Divisional Police Headquarters arrested Ibrahim Haruna, 21, a POS operator from Miga Local Government Area, for alleged computer-related fraud.

Police said the suspect allegedly withdrew ₦199,500 from a customer’s bank account and transferred the funds into four different OPay accounts without the account holder’s consent.

Preliminary investigation, according to the police, revealed that the suspect allegedly obtained the victim’s NIN details and used them to open a bank account without authorisation before carrying out the fraudulent transaction.

The investigation further uncovered that about 16 bank accounts belonging to different customers had allegedly been compromised using the same method.

The police said the investigation had been concluded and the suspect had been arraigned in court.

The command also confirmed the recovery of ₦50,000 in counterfeit currency during its operations.

The Commissioner of Police urged residents to exercise caution in handling their personal banking information, NIN details, and other sensitive financial data to avoid falling victim to fraudsters.