As President Muhammadu Buhari moves to raise a new cabinet to run the affairs of state with the appointments of a fresh set of Nigerians and retention of some serving ministers, Nigeria secret police, the Department of State Services has warned of moves by swindlers to extort cash from unsuspecting top Government officials in a bid to secure a position in the next cabinet.
In a statement signed by the Agency's spokesman, Peter Afunanya, he noted that the move by the fraudsters constituted a fresh pattern of fraud in the country targeted at top Government functionaries.
The statement reads in part “The Department of State Services wishes to draw the attention of the public, particularly heads of public institutions to the new pattern of fraud in the country targeted at them. Investigations disclosed that the fraudsters use names of the supervising authorities of the Chief Executive Officers to extort (the CEOs) of huge sums of money. Believing that these fraudsters actually act on behalf of highly placed Government functionaries, the victims are deceived to part with their valuables including money".
Afunanya further added that those also targeted are persons seeking new appointments or renewal of terms. It envisaged that the act may be at its peak during this transition period when prospective appointees are jostling for positions. He opined that the information will serve as an early warning to would-be victims.
The mouthpiece of the Nigeria's secret Police further advised Nigerians to promptly report all such matters to relevant security agencies. On it part, the Service revealed it will continue to partner with relevant stakeholders to apprehend the fraudsters as well as ensure the security and integrity of the nation is preserved.
