Posted by Chinenye on Thu 02nd Jul, 2026 - tori.ng
An official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has told a Federal High Court in Abuja how two men were arrested over an alleged impersonation and fraud scheme targeting a former Nigerian Ports Authority boss in a staged $700,000 cash deal.
(EFCC. Photo by Guardian NigeriaNews)
Akeem Lasisi, an employee of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has disclosed how two men, identified as Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim, were arrested for defrauding former Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) Managing Director Mohammed Bello Koko of $700 million.
Jooshua, the first defendant in an amended four-count charge that borders on impersonation, conspiracy, and obtaining the sum of $700,000 filed against the two suspects, allegedly claimed to be Koko's personal assistant to Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Commission.
While presenting his evidence as the second prosecution witness before Justice J.O Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital, High Court, Apo, Abuja, on Wednesday, Lasisi detailed how his team arrested the defendants while being lead in evidence by prosecution counsel, Elizabeth Alabi.
He told the court that he was the chief of Team A of the Cybercrime Unit at the Commission’s headquarters in 2024 and was asked to investigate an information which suggested that certain individuals were impersonating personnel of the Commission, with one claiming to be Olukoyede’s personal assistant.
According to him, “Under the guise of false identity, the defendants approached the former managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority.
Mohammed Bello Koko asserted that the EFCC was looking into his time as the M.D. of NPA and that the Chairman of the EFCC and the Director of Operations had asked for $1 million to halt the probe.
We got in touch with Mr. Koko after receiving this petition.
Although he was not in the nation at the time, he attested to the intelligence report's contents and stated that he had been asked for a million dollars, which he claimed he had negotiated down to $700,000.
He claimed that he informed them that his brother will get in touch with them to transfer the money. At that moment, an undercover operator was detailed to keep communication with the impersonators.”
In his continued testimony, he revealed that "the location was agreed for the exchange of the cash on August 28, 2024, following the communication with the undercover operative with the defendants."
The squad went to AA Rano Filling Station on Airport Road in Abuja to make the arrest, but Abubakar Tanko, the undercover agent, once more agreed on a new site.
The team then moved to the new site on Gimbya Street, where our undercover agent was stationed. Soon later, the second defendant showed up at the scene in a black Toyota jeep with the license plate GWA666PA.
The second defendant was then approached by the operative to provide a bag that had previously been prepared and contained fictitious US dollar bills.
My squad proceeded to arrest the second defendant at the exchange site.
The witness also revealed that the second defendant finally took his team to the first defendant's home, where he was also taken into custody.
A search of the first defendant's home resulted in the recovery of two phones from him and a Prado SUV from the second defendant.
He revealed that both defendants were taken to the EFCC's offices after being arrested, where they delivered their statements under duress and were videotaped in front of their attorneys.
After he finished testifying, the prosecution's attorney requested a postponement so she could finish the formalities of towing the recovered Prado SUV to the court and present it as an exhibit.
Additionally, she requested permission from the court to play the video recordings of the defendants' extrajudicial comments before the EFCC.
After hearing her pleadings, Justice Onwuegbuzie postponed the case until July 15–16, 2026.