EFCC arrests wanted FBI suspect in Ogun

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it has arrested a 38-year-old man, Festus Abiona, indicted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations over alleged involvements in internet fraud.

The commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, said this in a statement made available to newsmen in Ilorin on Monday.

“Abiona had been on the wanted list of the commission for more than eight months over the alleged fraud case before luck ran against him and he was finally arrested in his hideout.

“The anti-graft body was able to fish him out last week Wednesday in his beautifully built duplex in Arepo, Ogun state,” he said.

According to him, the suspect, on sighting the operatives of the EFCC, flushed all his SIM cards down the toilet and destroyed all his Automatic Teller Machines to destroy evidence.

He stated that even though the suspect had refused to make a statement since his arrest, the suspect would soon be arraigned in court.

The suspect, said the statement, had refused to step out of his house for the past five months for fear of being arrested since he got wind of the EFCC/FBI trail on him.

“But as the slogan of the EFCC says, “wherever you are, EFCC will get you,” he said.

According to him, the FBI had in a petition dated July 10, 2019, alleged that the suspect was involved in Business Email Compromise and other computer-enabled fraud.

“Furthermore, in May 2016, the FBI received information that an actor or actors bypassed online security to steal money from retirement accounts held by an insurance company for public workers in the US.

“The money resulted in the loss of approximately 2.5 million dollars.

“Investigation into the case by the commission revealed that the person behind the business email compromise is Festus Akinyemi Abiona and his syndicate members.

“Millions of naira have been traced to his bank accounts and some of the emails used in perpetrating the fraud have been taken over from the suspect,” he said.

(NAN)