A police witness, ASP Musa Umar on Monday told the Independent Investigation Panel on Allegations of Human Rights Violations by the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other units of the Nigeria Police that a complainant, Danjuma Ali defrauded unsuspecting job applicants to the tune of N3.5m.
ASP Umar who disclosed this in his testimonies before the 11-Member panel chaired by Justice Suleiman Galadima (rtd) also stated that the petitioner, Ali impersonated as an Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to deceive and defraud several people in the name of giving them employment but to no avail.
According to the Police witness, he was an Inspector of police when the allegation of fraudulent activities was brought to the office of the Inspector General of Police by one Muktar Abdullahi against the petitioner.
He told the panel that the letter containing the allegation of impersonation and fraud was officially assigned to him for investigation and that he invited the petitioner who made statement in respect of the allegations against him.
He alleged that Ali, the petitioner sent six employment letters bearing Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance to his victims (names not given) all in a bid to deceive and defraud them.
On the account of the said allegations against Ali, ASP Umar said that he wrote letters to FCMB and Zenith bank where the monies were lodged in the bank accounts of the petitioner and the two banks obliged him with statements of his accounts.
Besides, he told the panel that when more allegations of fraud as it relate to fake job offers kept coming against the complainant, he had to charge him to court.
During a cross-examination, A.Y. Jubrin, counsel to the petitioner said that he would want the police witness to furnish the panel with his client’s statement at the police station when he was arrested, saying that there are likely variations and contradictions from the testimony of the police witness.
The petitioner’s counsel therefore asked the panel to order the police witness to produce the statement of his client at the police station for the panel to look into it and compare the same with his testimonies and that was granted by the panel.
The matter was adjourned to 13th of December, 2021 for adoption of written addresses.
The Petitioner’s counsel was given seven days to file and serve the Police counsel who in turn was given one week to file and serve his reply on the petitioner’s counsel.
