Olaitan Shofolahan, 37, a man
arrested by the operatives of Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police
Command for impersonating officials of the Lagos State Land Use Charge has
blamed unemployment as the cause of his action.
Shofolahan, an Accounting graduate
of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Ogun State, was arrested on Thursday
in Lekki Phase 1, in Eti – Osa Local Government of Lagos while attempting to
defraud a resident of the posh estate of several millions Land Use Charge dues.
The suspect, who was working in his
brother’s audit firm in Sabo, Yaba area of Lagos before abandoning the job in
search of better offer, stated that his moves to join the Lagos State Public
Service was frustrated by lack of vacancy.
According to the suspect, “I was
working with my brother in his audit firm in Sabo, Yaba, earning N45, 000
monthly salary before I left the firm in search of employment.
I was at Lagos State Civil Service
Commission several times to seek employment. It was during one of my visits
that I learnt that payment for Land Use Charge in the state is through a code.
The code is engraved on every metal sticker issued to every house”.
“It is with this code that you get
an annual bill of the house and that you can get your charges printed out for
you free with the bills. That was how I started moving round choice location to
get their code and print their bills.
Any house that does not owe, I
discard but those with huge bills, I work on them. But I noticed that some of
them requested for my id – card. I forged a Lagos State Government identity
card using a sample that I saw somewhere in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja”, he
stated.
He added, “I have being in the
business since February, 2015. I have observed that owners of buildings in
Lekki have capacity to settle their bills quickly, that was why I have focused
there. Unfortunately for me, it was this location that I was caught.
I entered the building in Lekki
Phase 1 unknown to me that the officials of the Lagos State Land Use Charge
were there with the house owner. I saw the owner discussing with them but I
didn’t know their identity. The owner of the building after sitting me down,
invited RRS officials to arrest me”.
Shofolahan explained further; “since
I have been impersonating, I have only realised N30, 000 which I collected from
an home owner in Alausa while pretending to be an official of the State. I have
not collected any other money apart from that. Each and every time I visited
these buildings, they ask me to come back later”.
Found with the suspect after his
arrest were five land use bills with varied charges above N1 million and a
forged identity card of The Lagos State Government.
Confirming the incident, the Police
PPRO, ASP Olarinde Famous Cole, said that there would be no hiding place for
criminals in Lagos State adding that officers of the command are at alert to
nip crime in the bud.
The suspect has been transferred to
the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba for further
investigations.
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