Operatives of the Uyo Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested an alleged serial fraudster, Mrs. Imaobong Okpong, for her suspected role in multiple visa fraud and fake foreign scholarship schemes involving nonexistent study programs abroad.
According to a statement posted by the EFCC on its official X handle on Friday, Okpong, who allegedly owns a school in Mbierebe, Akwa Ibom State, was apprehended following a petition by Dr. Blessing Bassey, a clinician.
Bassey alleged that the suspect defrauded her of ₦3 million under the pretext of securing a university admission and Canadian visas for her and her husband. She said the suspect approached her in February 2024 with a purported scholarship and visa opportunity.
Bassey stated that she only made the payment after the suspect signed an indemnity agreement, which she had notarised, before transferring ₦3,000,000 electronically into the suspect’s account.
However, Okpong allegedly became unreachable afterward, rejecting calls and failing to fulfill the agreement.
Bassey further claimed that Okpong had defrauded other victims, including her friend.
“I met someone in China. She was stranded when she got there and realised that there was no scholarship. Some of her (Okpong’s) victims had travelled abroad with fake documents that left many of them stranded overseas, while some others faced deportation with huge financial losses,” Bassey was quoted as saying.
The EFCC confirmed that Okpong will be charged in court after investigations are completed.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the anti-graft agency said that a Kwara court had jailed an entrepreneur, Muhammed Bukar, for possession of counterfeit currency and cybercrime.
Justice Abimbola Awogboro of the Federal High Court, Ilorin, sentenced Bukar, from Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State, to six months imprisonment after finding him guilty of a two-count charge filed by the Ilorin Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.
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