The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested one Umar Yau AKA ‘Snake’, a resident of Yelwan Makaranta for suspected involvement in fraudulent activities.
In a statement by the state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Ahmed Wakil, on Thursday, the command disclosed that the suspect was arrested following investigations after an online businesswoman, Mrs Fatimah Bawahab, petitioned them.
Wakil further revealed that the issue started when the business woman received information from different people in 2023 that a Facebook account impersonating her with her name and photographs had been created.
The statement read; “The petition outlined a series of fraudulent activities attributed to an individual utilising a deceptive online identity and operating two bank accounts.
“In March 2022, one Nafiu Muhammad alerted the complainant, Mrs Bawahab, regarding an individual using the Facebook username ‘Amizeebaby Muhd’.
“The suspect was advertising an online business and soliciting payments to a bank account registered in the name Hansatu Yau.
“Following the payment made by Mr Muhd, he was subsequently blocked from further communication, leading to suspicions that the accused employed multiple accounts to facilitate these fraudulent transactions, with the name Umar Ya’u.
“This account was reported to have actively defrauded innocent individuals online through payments directed to the same bank account named Hansatu Yau.
“The fraudulent demands persisted until the victims contacted Mrs Bawahab for verification, at which they realised they had fallen victim to a scam.
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It added that Bawahab had engaged with the unknown person to uncover who was behind the account, who rather insisted on receiving payments through the previously identified fraudulent bank accounts.
“On June 5, 2025 at about 9 pm, detectives employed technology-driven investigative techniques, successfully identifying Umar Yau as the individual behind the Facebook account ‘Amizeebaby Muhd.’
“Investigation results indicated that Umar Yau had been engaged in defrauding unsuspecting members of the public online since 2019 through numerous accounts, under the names Yau Hansatu and Umar Yau.
“During the arrest, the detectives recovered several items from the suspect including nine ATM cards from various banks, alongside a completed bank account opening form that was filled out without the consent of his sister, Maryam Yau, along with her academic documents.
“Two National Identification Number plastic cards bearing the suspect’s information, three voter’s cards reflecting the suspect’s details, three new SIM cards from different telecommunications providers, one ZTE Universal Mobile 4G MiFi device and one Infinix Smart 9 smartphone box,” he added.
Following the arrest, the suspect was said to have confessed to the crime revealing that he had been in the act for 5-6 years and has defrauded about 40 people already.
” The Bauchi State Police Command has transferred the case and the suspect to the Kano State Police Command for continued investigation and potential prosecution for the established offences,” he added.
