A community leader in Otu-Jeremi, Delta State, allegedly lost N5.475 million to suspected fraudsters who promised to secure his appointment as president-general of his community, using the identities of senior government officials to lend credibility to their scheme.

The Delta State Police Command said it had arrested three men in connection with the alleged fraud, in which the suspects reportedly impersonated the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, and aides to the Delta State governor to convince victims that they had access to government appointments and other privileges.

The suspects were identified as Aghogho Okpogbodu, 51; Moses Exist, 48; and Benjamin Owah, 49. They were arrested by detectives attached to the Area Command, Effurun, following an investigation into the alleged activities of the syndicate.

The police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, said preliminary investigations indicated that the suspects allegedly used SIM cards registered under the identities of prominent public officials to carry out the scheme.

The identities allegedly exploited included those of Akume; Chief Onoriode Sunday, Director of Protocol to the Delta State governor; and Prince Johnson Erijo, identified in the police report as the governor’s Chief of Staff.

According to Edafe, the suspects also allegedly used a caller-identification application to display names associated with the officials they impersonated, creating the impression that their calls originated from genuine government functionaries.

In one of the alleged transactions, the suspects reportedly posed as the governor’s Director of Protocol and collected N5.475 million from the community leader under the pretext of facilitating his appointment as president-general of Otu-Jeremi.

The police did not disclose the victim’s identity or provide further details about how the money was transferred. However, they said investigations were continuing to establish the full extent of the alleged operation and determine whether other people had been defrauded.

A search of the suspects’ premises reportedly led to the recovery of seven mobile phones, 17 SIM cards, 12 automated teller machine (ATM) cards bearing different names and a Point-of-Sale (PoS) terminal.

Police also recovered documents containing financial and identification details belonging to different individuals.

Edafe said the items would assist investigators in tracing financial transactions, identifying the owners of the accounts and SIM cards, and determining whether other people were involved in the alleged fraud.

The recovery of multiple SIM cards, bank cards bearing different names and personal financial documents has prompted further inquiries into the possible reach of the suspected network.