A 27 year old man who forged an NYSC call up letter to secure employment at a Federal Institution in Abuja has been arrested after defrauding parents of N1.3 million through a fake Cambridge University Scholarship scheme.
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, FCT Command, disclosed the arrest at a press conference on Thursday, where FCT Commandant Mr. Olusola Odumosu outlined how the suspect operated and pushed back against reports that the command had acted improperly in detaining him.
According to Odumosu, the suspect used a forged NYSC call up letter to gain employment at the International Model Science Academy, a subsidiary of the National Mathematical Centre in the Kwali Area Council. The NYSC subsequently issued a disclaimer confirming the suspect was not a genuine corps member.
Operating from within the Institution, the suspect collected money from parents under the pretence of registering their children for a Cambridge University Scholarship Examination. He cloned several Cambridge University email addresses to send fabricated confirmation emails to unsuspecting parents and also collected payments, claiming he would arrange extra lesson teachers and purchase study materials for the children.
"Reports from parents duped by the suspect revealed that the sum of N1.3 million had been fraudulently collected from different parents," Odumosu said.
Exhibits recovered from the suspect included an NYSC uniform, the forged call up letter, documents showing financial transactions from parents, and a bag containing hard drugs.
The Commandant also addressed online reports alleging that the command was illegally detaining the suspect and demanding money for his release, describing those claims as false and misleading. He clarified that the suspect remained in custody under a court remand order after failing to meet his bail conditions, and that the N1.3 million figure referenced in the reports was the amount the suspect owed to defrauded parents, not a fee demanded by the command.
A second report alleging that the command detained a 69 year old man for 89 days and demanded a fee of N10 million for his release was similarly dismissed. "The command wishes to state categorically that the report is also false, misleading, and a gross misrepresentation of the facts," Odumosu said.
The Commandant urged employers, particularly schools and academic institutions, to verify NYSC call up letters before admitting corps members to their premises. Evidence gathered in the case, he said, would be presented before a court for further prosecution.
