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| The suspects |
The brothers are said to come from Obudu LGA of Cross River State.
A statement released by the spokesperson of the Force, Frank Mba, said the trio used a fake Facebook account and then fraudulently operated bank accounts to defraud innocent Nigerians of their hard-earned monies under the pretext that the Foundation is raising money to help vulnerable Nigerians during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Investigations by officers attached to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) reveal that the brothers engage extensively and serially in such frauds and other related cybercrimes.
During the unrelenting manhunt of the fraudsters, Henry Ushie, an elder sibling to Emmanuel Ushie, was identified as the gang leader of the syndicate behind the scam. He went underground as his younger siblings also involved in the crime were arrested.
Following weeks of intense follow-up and meticulous investigations, Henry was arrested on Thursday, June 11 at a hideout in Ihiala, Anambra State. His arrest eventually led to the arrest of his younger brother Mathew Ushie 'm' who is also an active member of the syndicate.
Further investigation revealed that Mathew Ushie had been arrested in Ghana last year in a well-publicized bust of fraudsters where he and other international fraudsters used the name of the Inspector General of Police of Ghana, John Kudalor to defraud unsuspecting Ghanaian policemen in the guise of providing an opportunity for them to attend United Nations peacekeeping mission using a fake Facebook account. Information about his arrest and parading before the press in Ghana is available on the internet.
Similarly, Henry Ushie had also been arrested in 2017 by the IRT for impersonating then ACP ABBA Kyari, the Commander IRT on Facebook, and defrauding many innocent Nigerians before he was arrested and subsequently charged to court for impersonation. He eventually got bail from the court and went back to the same crime.
Mba said all the suspects will be charged to court at the conclusion of investigations.
The police spokesperson added that 21 other suspected fraudsters including a woman, have been arrested for their involvement and indictment in cases of romance and online dating scams, generating and deployment of fake bank alerts, hacking and fraudulent wire transfers, cyberstalking and impersonation of high-profile personalities in Nigeria and across the world.
Exhibits recovered from the suspects include 11 laptop computers, 37 mobile Phones, 11 SIM cards of different telecoms networks, 5 international passports, 12 ATM Cards, fake US Dollar notes, quantities of dry leaves suspected to be Marijuana.
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