Enugu State Police Command has revealed that it has arrested a banker and two others for alleged conspiracy and fraudulent withdrawal of N4million through identity theft.

The suspects identified as; Ndulaka Okwudili (26), Ifeanyi Nnamani, a former staff of a commercial bank, (name withheld), and Philip Ozogwu (44), a National Identification Number (NIN) enrollment agent.

According to a statement and issued on Thursday night by the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, the suspects were arrested by operatives attached to the Central Police Division on October 18, 2024.

Ndukwe explained that the suspects criminally conspired to steal and use the identity of an Australia-based Nigerian, identified as Mba John Ndukwe to commit fraud.

Although Ndukwe said the suspects had been arraigned before an Enugu State Magistrate Court, who remanded two in the Enugu Maximum Custodial Nigerian Correctional Centre, the NIN agent was not remanded as further investigations into his role in the crime are ongoing.

The statement partly read, “The suspects are accused of withdrawing over four million Naira from the victim’s bank account through fraudulent means. The arrest of the suspects by police operatives from the Central Police Station of the Command followed an alarm raised by the management of the bank’s branch after the fraudulent activities were detected on the victim’s account.

“Further investigation by police detectives from the Command’s State Criminal Investigation Department’s Crack Squad (D16) revealed that Ndulaka Okwudili confessed to the crime.

“According to his confession, in October 2023, at Nowas Junction in Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, he found a bag containing various personal items, including SIM cards from different telecommunications networks.

“In January 2024, he inserted an Airtel SIM card found in the bag into his phone and received a large credit alert, leading him and others at large to begin withdrawing funds from the victims account using the USSD banking code.

“By September 2024, when Okwudili faced difficulties accessing the account, he visited the said bank branch. There, he colluded with Ifeanyi Nnamani, an employee of the bank with 17 years of service, who informed him that the account was on Post No Debit status. Nnamani advised Okwudili to obtain a court affidavit and modify his National Identification Number (NIN) details to match those of the account’s legitimate owner, Mba John Ndukwe, to gain access to the account.

“Furthermore, Okwudili enlisted the services of Philip Ozogwu, an NIN enrolment agent, who unlawfully changed his name, date of birth, and other personal details on his NIN to match those of the victim without questioning his intentions.

“He gave Philip the sum of Forty thousand Naira (N40,000.00) for the “service”. With this altered information, Nnamani facilitated the fraudulent reactivation of the account, bypassing verification checks, including the Bank Verification Number (BVN) link.

“After reactivating the account, Okwudili immediately withdrew N100,000 and gave Nnamani N50,000 as a “payment” for his role.”

The statement added, “He later withdrew an additional N1,500,000, which triggered an alert from the bank’s Ohafia, Abia State, branch, where the account was originally opened.

“This led to the detection of the fraud and the consequent reporting of the case to the police by the Enugu branch management of the bank. On October 18, 2024, when Okwudili attempted another transaction at the bank, he was arrested, along with Nnamani, by police officers from the Command’s CPS Enugu, while Ozogwu was later arrested.

“The three suspects have been charged with conspiracy, identity theft, forgery, and fraud before the Enugu North District Magistrate Court of Enugu State, Nigeria.

“On the orders of the court, Ndulaka Okwudili and Ifeanyi Nnamani were remanded in the Nigerian Correctional Custodial custody, while Philip Ozogwu was granted bail pending further proceedings. Moreover, the case file was transmitted to the Attorney General of Enugu State, through the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), for a further legal opinion.”

Meanwhile, Ndukwe said that the Commissioner of Police, Kanayo Uzuegbu, has commended the bank for its cooperation in exposing the fraudulent activity and urged the public to exercise caution in managing personal identification information and securing devices containing sensitive data to prevent falling victim to similar crimes.