The Zone 16 Command of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has arrested four Police personnel including an Inspector involved in the alleged abduction and extortion of N20million from two suspected Internet fraudsters popularly known as ‘Yahoo Boys’ in Bayelsa State.
The arrested Police personnel, however, confessed that two civilian accomplices now at large, one Eyi Mattthew Excel, who contested the last State House of Assembly elections under the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State and one Mayor Goodluck Arab set up the suspected fraudsters for the extortion scam.
It was gathered that the accused Policemen had stormed the residence of the ‘Yahoo Boys’, who are indigenes of Bayelsa State and just returned from Ghana, and arrested them with blindfold to an unknown hotel in Azikoro town on Monday.
Investigation further revealed that they threatened to kill the duo if they don’t part with N50million, claiming someone from Ghana accused the them of theft.
The suspected fraudsters later succumbed and agreed to part with N20million. They took the Policemen to two commercial banks and made two separate transfers of N7m and N13m to the Policemen respectively.
Later, a friend of the suspected internet fraudsters, who learnt about their ordeals, decided to report the matter to one of the publicised phone numbers of the Nigerian Police Zonal headquarters and it attracted the attention of the top hierarchy of Zonal Police headquarters.
According to a source close to the Command, the AIG Zone 16, Benjamin Okolo, ordered the arrest of the accused personnel and additional facts revealed that their action was without the knowledge of their superior officers.
“They were not members of a team. They work at various units but do shady deals together. In the past, they were nearly killed by some Military officers along Agbura road in Ogbia Local Government Area where they mounted illegal roadblock to extort oil bunkerers.
“The accused Police personnel have returned the N2.5million they each made from the Yahoo Boys extortion deal, while Eyi Mattthew Excel is reported to have returned his share of the deal but still at large, the Mayor Goodluck Arab was arrested and granted bail but he has absconded,” the source stated.
However, confirming the incident in a statement on Wednesday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Zone 16 Command, SP Ikwo Kevin, admitted that some internet fraudsters known as Yahoo Boys defrauded some foreigners of a sum of $28,000, which errant Policemen went after them and got them arrested.
“The fraudsters confessed to the crime and pleaded for leniency but instead of them to do the needful, they compromised by collecting monies from them, so when the AIG got wind of the matter, he ordered for their arrest and detention.
“Information we got was that the Police got N10million while the informant also got N10million of his own share, but has eventually returned N7.5million from his hideout and still on the run.
“The monies they got were also recovered, while investigation is still on,” SP Ikwo stated
