Fraudulent couple nabbed in Ogun State

A couple who have been on the run from fraud charges have finally been apprehended by the Special Armed Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Ogun State Police Command.

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46-year-old Abiola Wahab and Toyin Abiola, are undergoing interrogation following allegations of using their three-year-old son as a pawn in their game of fraud.

The couple are alleged to have used their son as collateral to defraud a long list of victims from whom they took loans or bought goods on credit.

Speaking with Sunday Sun, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmed Illiyasu disclosed that the husband and wife allegedly defrauded large-scale goods distributors.

Opening up on the couple's mode of operations, Mr. Ahmed said that Wahab and Toyin would visit a distributor, collect goods worth millions of Naira, pay some money before disappearing into thin air, leaving behind a pile of debts. He added that they have duped a number of victims in Oyo, Lagos, Osun and Ogun states.

They are reported to have continually switched the plate number on their vehicle which they usually drove to different business locations, making them hard to trace.

The Commander of SARS, Supol Uba Adams, disclosed that the pair had been arrested at a home they had built in Ikirun, Osun State.

Speaking with Sunday Sun at the SARS headquarters, Toyin revealed that she had been engaged in rice distribution before getting involved in the fraudulent acts.

“I was into distribution of rice in Ikiru, Osun state. In 2008, somebody duped me of N1 million after I had supplied rice. My clients were pestering me for their money. The case was transferred to State CID Oshogbo and I was arraigned in court. The magistrate ordered that I be remanded at Ilesha prison and adjourned the case. I was nine months pregnant at the time. I delivered my second child in prison. The day that the magistrate granted me bail was also the day I gave birth. I spent only five days in the prison, and that was why I named my baby, Aishat Abiola. The court ordered that we pay off the money within one month, but I could not afford to pay. So I jumped bail.”

"We have duped a lot of people. We would collect assorted drinks and promise to pay but we would not go back again. “When we go to visit a prospective victim, I would wear a hijab to disguise myself and seem like a pious Muslim woman. I would pay an amount with a promise to pay the balance after selling the goods. But I never went back.”

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After they confessed, the detectives invited some of the victims to identify the pair, who the Commissioner of police has assured would be charged to court soon.