The Ogun State Police Command has apprehended three individuals for allegedly hacking into the WhatsApp account of the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) head, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Bode Ojajuni, and defrauding his relatives and friends of over N1.1 million.
This was disclosed by the State’s Commissioner of Police, Lanre Ogunlowo, while parading the suspects and others involved in various criminal activities at the command’s headquarters in Eleweran, Abeokuta.
The arrested suspects were identified as Tolani Jeremiah (31), Akande Suru (20), and Edwin Jatto (24). They were captured in Edo State, where they were hiding. The trio allegedly gained access to DCP Ojajuni’s WhatsApp account and sent messages to his contacts, requesting urgent financial help.
“The suspects hacked into the WhatsApp account associated with the GSM number 08034062773, belonging to DCP Bode Ojajuni of the State CID, Eleweran. Using the compromised account, they tricked the victim’s friends and family into transferring funds to a Moniepoint account (6862703892) in the name of Ichioma Ojo. As a result, they defrauded their victims of N1,115,000,” said the CP.
Ogunlowo further revealed that six mobile phones, including a Redmi Android phone, along with other devices used in the hacking scheme, were recovered from the suspects. Investigations showed that the criminals used a Gmail account to bypass WhatsApp’s one-time password security system.
“The suspects have admitted to their involvement in the crime and are part of an internet fraud syndicate targeting unsuspecting citizens,” Ogunlowo added.
