Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested a suspect, Joel Mba Okodi, who has been wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for four years.
Okodi, popularly referred to as Chief, was a resident at 21, Abak Road, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
He is listed as a Director at Chismo Resources Limited, Ikot-Ekpene.
He allegedly deceitfully collected the sum of N50 million from one Chief Okosisi and was arrested by the EFCC after the case was reported.
While the fraud case was being investigated, he coaxed another victim, Ochulor Okeokwu, to stand as surety in the case.
To secure the suspect’s release, Okeokwu unsuspectingly tendered his house documents worth N50 million as collateral at the EFCC Office in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
After that, the suspect refused to turn up for investigations at the EFCC office and was nowhere to be found, evading phone calls.
On the few occasions he was reached via phone calls, he violently threatened Okeokwu to desist from calling him.
Okeokwu then proceeded to send a petition to the Inspector General of Police, who approved and forwarded it to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, who immediately sprang into action and mandated men of Operation Sting to ensure that the suspect was arrested in the shortest time possible.
The operatives of the Rivers State Police Command then proceeded to carry out a thorough investigation and diligent finding to ascertain the location of the suspect as somewhere in Ajegunle, Apapa, Lagos, where he had been hiding all these years.
The operatives then submitted relevant policing documents, mobilised, and went to Lagos State to carry out the arrest on January 18, 2024, about 8:34 pm in Ajegunle.
The coordinated efforts to carry out the arrest showed that there is truly no hiding place for criminals.
The case is being handled by the EFCC.
CP Disu advised individuals to be cautious when standing surety.
He warned that there would be no hiding place for criminals in the state.
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