ICPC arrests group’s ringleader for fleecing Nigerians n loan scam

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) said it has arrested one Umanah Ekaete Umanah for allegedly fleecing unsuspecting members of the public in a loan scam.

A statement signed by the commission’s spokesperson, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, noted read that Umanah was the ringleader of a fraudulent group that has been swindling unsuspecting Nigerians through a fraudulent loan scheme, tagged ‘President Muhammadu Buhari Poverty Alleviation Programme.’

Okoduwa stated that the commission investigated and arrested Umanah, “who was riding on the promise of the new government to provide a better life for ordinary people,” while acting on a petition by a concerned citizen.

She explained that the scheme, ‘No Burn Global Limited,’ under the auspices of Magic Project Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society, offered interest-free and collateral-free loans up to the tune of N1 million, repayable over a period of 10 years.

The fraudulent scheme was also said to have offered the option of repaying N2, 100 weekly or N8, 000 monthly.

She added that to secure this loan, the applicant had to pay for an application form and a processing fee of N7, 000 and N5, 000, respectively.

Further investigations by ICPC revealed that in spite of the fairly large number of applications over the period of time the group had been operating, not one applicant had received the loan.

The statement said ‘No Burn Global Limited’ was neither registered with any financial institution, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC.

According to the ICPC, the purpose for the fraudulent scheme was to hoodwink unsuspecting clients into paying the N12, 000, which serves as reward for the scammers.

The commission, therefore, warned members of the public to avoid falling prey to deals that sound too good to be true, saying the offence violates and is punishable under Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and would be charged to court accordingly.