The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has said that Joseph Efe, the fraudster in the viral video, will be handed over to the police for further investigation and prosecution.
In a statement on Thursday, the police demanded that the suspect be handed to them as the crime he was alleged to have committed is part of their mandate.
Addressing the press on Friday, the NSCDC FCT Commandant, Dr Olusola Odumosu, said the suspect would be handed over to the police to conclude the investigations and proceed with the prosecution.
He noted that the 30-year-old suspect, Joseph Efe, was arrested after coming out of an Abuja hotel premises allegedly to meet an accomplice, leaving his victim tied up in the hotel room.
Upon noticing Efe’s suspicious movement, he said the eagle-eyed men of the NSCDC FCT Command who were at their sentry post stopped him. Still, instead of stopping, the suspect took to his heels after sighting the gallant officers who chased him, caught him and led him back to his hotel room, where the naked girl was found tied hands and legs with semitransparent adhesive tape (Sellotape).
The victim, Olivia Chukwuemeka, was immediately rescued from the situation where she had been stripped naked, bound, hands, feet and mouth.
While Parading the suspect, Odumosu said the suspect confessed to being a Yahoo boy and that he had not been collecting money from the act, so he decided to hunt for young girls on a dating site called ‘coded runs’. He operates between Port Harcourt, Lagos, Benin, and Abuja.
He said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect is a serial fraudster(yahoo) and a thief who specialises in luring ladies on dating sites into hotel rooms with the intent of robbing them of their phones and making withdrawals from his victim’s bank accounts.
He said the investigation also revealed that the suspect arrived in Abuja from Lagos on September 17, 2024, and lodged in a hotel adjacent to the old Federal Secretariat, Area 1.
Odumosu said his first victim on arrival in Abuja was another lady he invited to his hotel room. However, he could not succeed in his evil act because the lady was able to put up some resistance.
The noise attracted hotel staff to the hotel, who came into his room. Due to the poor handling of the situation by the hotel security, he succeeded in escaping from the scene.
Upon his escape from the first hotel, he proceeded to the next hotel, where he checked in at about 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18th, 2024.
He invited his latest victim, who arrived at about 9 am. He threatened her, putting fear in her and holding her by the throat; the frightened lady succumbed to her abductor, and she was then stripped and bound.
On checking the victim’s phone, he discovered that she had no money in her bank account. He then took the victim’s Android phone and left the hotel room.
In the process of escaping from the hotel premises, his movement became suspicious, but in trying to stop him, he took to his heels and was chased and caught by NSCDC Operatives.
While addressing journalists, Odumosu said, “Let it be made abundantly clear that the video in circulation on this incident was not shot by the operatives of the NSCDC; we only became aware of its existence as it went viral on social media.
“Furthermore, as a Corps, we are duty bound and empowered to do due diligence before taking necessary steps towards prosecuting or handing over a suspect as the case may be to any relevant sister agency”.
After preliminary investigation, the suspect and the victim will be handed over to the relevant agency for any further necessary action.
The FCT Commandant helmsman also warned all hotel owners to be more vigilant and to do more to protect their guests and hotel facilities and ensure their premises are not used to perpetuate crime.
The Commandant, who described the way the victim was tied by her abductor as inhuman, cautioned all young ladies involved in ‘hook up’ to desist from such acts that will endanger their lives.
Meanwhile, the Command has also arrested a suspected vandal of armoured cables.
The suspect, Usman Ibrahim, was arrested by men of the anti-vandal unit who were acting on a tip-off while vandalising armoured cables from a transformer in Nuclear Technology Centre, Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission premises at Big Sheda Village in Kwali Area Council.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, a notorious vandal, earns a living from acts of vandalism along the Gwagwalada—Kwali axis and has a ready market in Agwan Dodo Bola at Gwagwalada Area Council.
The suspect has an accomplice, one Dan Abu, who, upon sighting men of NSCDC, took to his heels. The men of NSCDC also discovered that not only was the transformer vandalised, but the street lights around it had also been vandalised.
According to Odumosu, the investigation is still ongoing. As the facts unfold, more suspects will be arrested, after which the suspects will be charged in court.
Also, the trio of Theophilus Oche, “M” 27 years old, Okpokwu LGA, Benue State, Danladi Auwal, “M” 25 years old, Bagwai LGA, Kano State, and Ado Alqasim, “M” 20 years old, Bichi LGA, Kano State, were arrested at Big Sheda, Kwali Area Council.
The suspects were caught with vandalized air conditioners and cables, suspected to have been vandalized at the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), Big Sheda.
Operatives of NSCDC FCT Command captured them while on patrol at Big Sheda. They were apprehended when the vandalized materials were transported on a motorcycle.
Odumosu warned all criminals and miscreants to shun all acts of crime as the NSCDC and FCT Command will not relentlessly get them arrested and ensure justice is served.
Some of the exhibits recovered from the suspects include Armored cables, saws, daggers, Motorcycles, air conditioners, and charms.
