Fake Officer Nabbed in Lagos for Forgery and Fraud
It’s one thing to bend the rules, but it’s quite another to invent a uniform and a job description to scam people. That’s exactly what landed a certain impostor in the tight grip of Lagos State Taskforce officers.
The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit, better known as the Taskforce, has arrested 40-year-old Sunday Otu of Cross River State. Otu, who resided in Ketu, was caught red-handed for forging official documents and extorting unsuspecting victims. His most recent act involved defrauding a motorist of N60,000 with the promise of “pulling strings” to release a seized vehicle.
The victim, 35-year-old Sunday Daniel (also called Daniel Jackson), had been flagged for driving against traffic. Seizing the opportunity, Otu claimed he could help secure the car’s release for N90,000. Daniel, believing the tale, paid N60,000 upfront and was told to prepare the balance once the fake release order was presented. What Otu didn’t plan on was the Taskforce seeing through his charade.
Investigations revealed that Otu forged the release order himself before leading the victim to the agency’s car park in Alausa. There, the tables turned and the conman was promptly arrested. It didn’t take long for detectives to connect him to earlier fraudulent dealings, which had already placed him on the agency’s radar.
During his arrest, officials uncovered multiple forged release order booklets, along with stationery and fake registration numbers used in his schemes. Otu later admitted that an accomplice, known only as Afix, is still at large and may have played a part in the racket.
CSP Adetayo Akerele, Chairman of the Lagos State Taskforce, issued a stern reminder to the public: anyone trying to bypass official procedures through shady middlemen is setting themselves up for trouble. The agency stressed that only direct dealings with legitimate officers can prevent citizens from falling prey to such scams.
For Otu, the game of pretending to be an officer ended with a very real arrest — proof that crime often catches up with those who think they’re cleverer than the system.
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