The Nigeria Police Force has arrested two high-profile suspects connected to significant transnational financial crimes, including a $210,000 investment fraud and a ₦452 million charity scam. The arrests, made by operatives from the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Abuja, are part of an ongoing crackdown on cybercrime and financial fraud.
The first suspect, Robert Harms, a Canadian national, was apprehended on February 7, 2025, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja while attempting to flee to Canada. He is linked to a fraudulent Waste-to-Energy investment scheme involving Tepison Enterprises in Akwa Ibom State, which transferred $210,000 under false pretenses. Harms used fake documents and coordinated through a Polaris Bank staff member and a Bureau de Change in Abuja to funnel the funds to Dubai. Harms was arraigned on May 9, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Uyo, where the case was adjourned to May 20, 2025.
The second suspect, Ms. Okeke Ogechi Njaka, a Nigerian, was re-arrested on May 8, 2025, in Abuja after evading custody following an earlier arrest in Anambra State in January 2021. Njaka, who faces charges of cyberbullying, fraud, and criminal breach of trust, is also accused of defrauding the public through her NGO, Ogechi Helping Hands Foundation, which scammed ₦452,821,982 in a fake medical aid scheme. She is being prosecuted alongside her NGO and two other individuals, Emeka Ezeogbo and Tolotolo Family Foundation.
Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, emphasized the police’s commitment to tackling cyber and financial crimes and urged Nigerians to exercise caution in international business transactions.
Source: Swifteradio.com
