Two brothers, Isiaka Olatunde and Ismaila Olatunji have been arrested by the Inspector General of Police Special Intelligence Response Team, IRT, for allegedly defrauding a building contractor, Ganiyu Orimoyi, of the sum of N25million under the guise of helping him procure building construction contract from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.
in 2014, one of the suspects, Olatunde, who was a POP engineer working for the contractor at one of his building sites in Offa, Kwara State deceived the contractor, that he (Olatunde) had a brother, Olatunji, working with the former NSA which the contractor believed and was made to part with various sums of money whenever the brothers demanded for it to enable them perfect documents to secure the contract from the NSA.
It was further gathered that the extortion took a higher dimension when the former NSA was arrested and locked up by the Department State Security.
Olatunji then lied to the victim that as an aide to the former NSA, his bank account was being monitored by security agents and could have been frozen and he, therefore, needed some funds pending when his boss would be released.
The victim fell for his tricks when he told him that he was also having talks with the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to make it easy for him to join the APC and have his bank account unfrozen, and that he would repay the victim all the money he collected from him. The victim was said to have complied with the arrangement, but in 2019 after Sambo Dasuki was released and the victim needed his money, Olatunji was no where to be found.
According to the victim, “the two brothers told me that they were in Indian receiving treatment and they wanted me to come over so we could conclude our transactions,
“I went there, I called all their numbers but they didn’t pick. When I returned to Nigeria, they called and told me that the DSS may be using me to trail them but I told them that I was not a politician.
“They then asked me to come to Ghana, that they were on the run, and were currently working on joining the APC. I believed them and I bought a ticket to meet them in Ghana but before the flight took off, they called and told me that they were heading back to Nigeria, that I shouldn’t come to Ghana again.
I came down from the aircraft before it took off and I was arrested by airport security men, who were curious why I left the plane before its departure.
“I was only released when it was confirmed that the plane had landed safely in Ghana. I was left with no other choice than to get the police involved.
“I wrote a petition to the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed and my case was assigned to the IRT in Osogbo, Osun State and luckily Isiaka Olatunde, who linked me to Olatunji was arrested by the police”.
Isiaka Olatunde, claimed after he was arrested by the IRT operatives in Osun State, that he gave a popular Islamic cleric in Offa, known as Alhaji Ismail Mustapha, the N25 million he took from Alhaji Oriyomi under the guise of procuring construction contract for him through his brother, Olatunji, who he said was working for the former NSA. He alleged that Alhaji Mustapha was preparing money ritual charm for him.
Based on this claim, the IRT operatives in Osun, stormed Offa, Kwara State, and arrested Alhaji Mustapha, who had confrontation with Isiaka Olatunde, who persistently accused him of collecting all the money he got from Alhaji Oriyomi.
Alhaji Mustapha was said to have tactically paid the sum of N5million to Alhaji Oriyomi on bond and also signed an agreement where he promised to the pay the balance of N20 million before he could secure his release.
Knowing he was innocent and had no business with Isiaka Olatunde, Alhaji Mustapha approached the officer-in-charge of the IRT, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari, and asked that the matter be investigated properly and the case moved to Abuja.
At that point, Isiaka Olatunde, Alhaji Oriyomi, and Alhaji Mustapha were invited but when Olatunde got there and discovered that the truth would be revealed he ran away.
But a few months later he was rearrested and he confessed that he didn’t give Alhaji Mustapha any money he took from Alhaji Oriyomi, but lied against him because he wanted him to help them pay off the debt they were owing Alhaji Oriyomi.
“Then, in 2014, one of my brothers, Ismail Olatunji, advised me to lie to Alhaji Oriyomi that he had links with Dasuki, and would help Alhaji get contracts from Sambo Dasuki.
“When I told him that my brother had issues with BVN, he said whenever my brother needed money he should call him. My brother and Alhaji Oriyomi became friends and he started sending money to my brother regularly.
“But when he started disturbing me about the money I told him that my brother was in Indian receiving treatment and he flew to India but he didn’t see my brother.
“When Dasuki was arrested, he started disturbing me that he wanted to collect his money but we promised him that we were going to return his money.
As Oriyomi was disturbing me for the money, my brother advised that we should accuse Alhaji Ismail Mustapha, as the person who collected all the money from us because we wanted him to do money ritual charm for me.
“The police in Osun arrested Alhaji Mustapha and when he was brought before me, I accused him directly to his face that he was the person I gave all the money. When the pressure was too much for him, he accepted that he would pay the money and he was released.
Alhaji Mustapha then transferred the case to Abuja and I was invited to come. When I got to the IRT office in Abuja, I discovered that the truth was going to come out and when I saw that the policemen were not concentrating on me, I escaped.
“I ran to Lokoja, slept in the garage, before travelling to Sango of area of Ogun State, where I started a new life. I was there for some months before the police came and rearrested me and I don’t know how the police knew I was there.”