NSCDC arrests syndicate specializing in phone theft, fraud in Osun
By Deborah Oladejo, Osogbo
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Osun State Command, has arrested a syndicate specializing in mobile phone theft and defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.
The suspects, apprehended at different locations in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, are identified as Kayode Owoseni (35), Olasunkanmi Adesina (42), and Kehinde Bankole (32).
Owoseni, a two-time ex-convict, resides on Agbode Street, Oke Baale, Osogbo. Adesina, a suspected cultist, lives in Oke-Ayepe, while Bankole resides at Idi-Omo, Sabo Road, Osogbo.
The State Commandant of NSCDC, Michael Adaralewa, in a statement by the command’s spokesperson, ASC Kehinde Adeleke, revealed that the suspects were arrested following a complaint from one of their victims, whose phone was stolen.
Adaralewa explained that the complainant reported that on June 14, 2024, two men visited her shop in Inisa, Osun State, to buy sachet water. While attending to them, she placed her phone on a table in the shop.
Explaining that the men later decided not to purchase the water, but promised to return, she added that it was after they left that she discovered her phone was missing.
Upon receiving the complaint, the command disclosed that it initiated an investigation, leading to the arrest of the syndicate members on July 1, 2024.
“Through diligent investigation, it was revealed that Kayode Owoseni had been convicted twice for similar offenses. In his confessional statement, Owoseni admitted that he learned the act of pickpocketing from his friends, with their base at Oja Oba, Osogbo,” Adaralewa said.
Adeshina Olasunkanmi, in his statement, disclosed that he is a member of a cult group known as ‘Eta Fraternity.’
He confessed that the stolen phones were sold, but not before using the phone’s Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card to call unsuspecting members of the public, pretending to be an old man who mistakenly dialed their numbers.
During these calls, he would claim to be an herbalist offering money rituals. Victims who fell for the scam sent money to him for sacrifices, after which he destroyed the SIM cards to eliminate evidence.
Olasunkanmi further revealed that he collaborated with a man known as ‘JEEGUN,’ and together they had been defrauding people for fifteen years.
Reacting to the development, the NSCDC Commandant emphasized that the case involves charges of stealing, impersonation, fraud, and conspiracy to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.
While assuring Osun residents that the suspects would face the full wrath of the law, Adaralewa warned all who engaged in criminal activities in the state to desist or face severe consequences
