As the Federal Government prepares to make N500bn available for
poverty alleviation, Nigerians have been urged not to fall prey to groups
which claim to be acting on behalf of the Government only to dupe
vulnerable citizens in the process.
The warning came just as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission arrested one Umanah Umanah for
allegedly duping several job seekers.
The ICPC said in a statement by the Commissioner, Public
Enlightenment, Mrs. Rasheedat Okoduwa, that the suspect and members
of his syndicate floated a loan scheme tagged, "President Mohammadu
Buhari Poverty Alleviation Programme."
The commission said the fraudulent scheme offered an unspecified
number of unemployed Nigerians loans to the tune of N1m on the
condition that they pay between N5, 000 and N7, 000 for processing fees
and a form.
The statement read in part, "We arrested the ringleader of a fraudulent
group that has been swindling unsuspecting Nigerians of their money
through a fraudulent loan scheme tagged 'President Mohammadu Buhari
Poverty Alleviation Programme'.
"The scheme under the auspices of Magic Project Multi-Purpose
Cooperative Society offered to beneficiaries interest-free and collateral-
free loans up to the tune of N1m repayable over a period of 10 years.
The beneficiaries had the option of repaying weekly N2, 100 or monthly
N8, 400.
"However, 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."
Investigations by the anti-graft agency also indicated that the scheme
under the parent name 'No Burn Global Limited' was neither registered
with any financial institution, the Central Bank of Nigeria nor the Abuja
Municipal Area Council and therefore did not have appropriate
authorisation to carry out investment or financial services.
"It became obvious that Umanah and his group's hoodwinking of
unsuspecting clients into paying the said sums for the purpose of the
supposed loan was the actual target of the whole fraud scheme," the
statement added.
The suspect whose action violates and is punishable under Section 25 of
the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 will be
charged to court accordingly.
The ICPC warned members of the public to be wary of dubious
individuals and groups.
It urged people to always conduct checks with relevant authorities before
committing their resources into business deals that promise fantastic
returns.
Source: PunchNg
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