Why I impersonated Daisy Danjuma to defraud Buhari’s children – Dismissed policeman

Why I impersonated Daisy Danjuma to defraud Buhari’s children – Dismissed policeman

A 36 - year- old Charles Abam , a fraud suspect , who is now being held at the Force Headquarters , Abuja , for attempting to defraud the children of President Muhammadu Buhari , was at one point in his life , a police sergeant .
According to Abam , after being jobless since 2003 when he lost his job as a policeman , he found out he could make a lot of money by defrauding influential Nigerians .
The suspect allegedly got hold of the phone number of a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress , whom he contacted by impersonating Mrs. Daisy Danjuma, wife of Gen. T. Y . Danjuma.
Through the APC chieftain , he was able to contact some members of the First Family , setting in motion a con that was supposed to net him millions of Naira .
The indigene of Ndukwa East , Delta State , told investigators after he was tracked down and apprehended by the Inspector - General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team , that he quitted his police post in 2003 after being enticed by a chance to travel abroad .
He said , “When I had an opportunity to travel out of the country I left my duty post and went on to process my documents , but I was defrauded and I lost all my money .
“ I went back to my police job but I was told that I had been declared a deserter . I begged to be reinstated but was not taken back . I then began to look for work. I also applied for a bank security job but did not get it. ”
A source at the IRT told Saturday PUNCH that in April 2017 , Abam sent an SMS to the said APC chieftain , asking for the phone numbers of the President ’ s children .
The chieftain was said to have replied the SMS that she did not have the phone numbers of the President ’ s children but sent that of the elder brother of First Lady , Aisha, thinking she was communicating with Daisy Danjuma.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that Abam again contacted the First Lady ’ s brother by SMS , asking for the phone numbers of the President ’ s children .
The police said he eventually got the phone numbers of the President ’ s children , whom he sent messages , again impersonating Danjuma” to asking them to present five names for a phantom job with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency .
When the Inspector General of Police , Ibrahim Idris was notified of the suspected fraudulent activities of Abam , the IRT was tasked with tracking him down.
Members of the First Family were said to have played along and sent some names and phone numbers to the suspected fraudster .
Saturday PUNCH learnt that eight names, which were provided by the police , were eventually sent to Abam and his accomplice, Felix Machi .
“ The suspect then pretended to be officials of the NDLEA and called the phone number that had been sent to him . He asked them to pay a certain amount of money to a bank account , which would be payment for their kits during their training exercise . But no payment was made to the accounts, ” our correspondent was told by the police source .
Saturday PUNCH learnt that Abam was tracked down through the details of his bank account which he told his supposed victims to pay into .
The suspect , who also led operatives to arrest his accomplice , Machi , said he regrets his action .
According to him , his fraudulent activities started in 2014 after his unsuccessful attempts to find a job .
He said , “ I started with internet fraud but I was not making enough money . Then , I went into local fraud. One of my friends , known as Mike , taught me how to impersonate people in order to get phone numbers of prominent politicians .
“ Sometimes I also paid to get the phone numbers . I later met Felix ( Machi ), who became my partner . Before I attempted to defraud the president ’ s children, I had defrauded many politicians by pretending to be a kidney disease patient .
“ I told some politicians that I needed financial help for a kidney transplant and many of them sent money to me . I got N70 , 000 from a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly , EmekaObinna , the Commissioner for Lands in Delta State and he gave me N 50 , 000 .
“ One Senator Ahmed Kamoni, gave me N 150 , 000 while another member of the Anambra State House of Assembly , ObinnaUzor , gave me N50 , 000 . I also got N 50 , 000 from Senator Ahmed Yerima . Even the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria , Pastor Ayo Oritsejefor , gave me N 100 , 000 .
“ I also got N100 , 000 from the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly , Aniofor Udo andN 5 , 500 from a former Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission , Daniel Abia. ”
Abam said he gave 10 per cent of all the money he made from his kidney transplant fraud to Machi .
According to him , he only decided they needed to up their game recently when he broached the idea of defrauding the First Family to Machi .
He said he got the phone number of the APC chieftain from the APC Chairman in Delta State , Prophet Enu, by impersonating the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state .
Abam said , “ Eventually , when I contacted the President ’ s children and they sent me the eight names , I realised the candidates were not cooperating . I knew something had gone wrong when I started receiving calls from people threatening to arrest me .
“ I decided to destroy my phones and sim cards . I thought there was no way I could be tracked without them. But I was surprised when the police showed up at my house on Saturday and arrested me . ”
The police authorities at the headquarters have said Abam and his accomplice would be charged to court as soon as investigation into the extent of their operation was complete .