Fake Customs Chief Arrested For Recruitment Scam, Impersonation

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has arrested one Abdul-Rahman Ibrahim, in his fifties, for impersonating various high-ranking officials of the federal government and also engaging in fraud through recruitment scams.

The Customs, in a statement shared on its official X account on Wednesday by its spokesperson CSC Abdullahi Maiwada, alleged that Ibrahim posed as the Comptroller-General of Customs and other high-ranking officials, including the Chief of Staff to the President and the Secretary of the Ministry of Interior.

Using this elaborate deception, Ibrahim lured numerous unsuspecting individuals into paying him money for nonexistent “job appointment letters,” swindling them out of over N1 million.

This arrest signifies the NCS’s unwavering commitment to cracking down on criminal elements who exploit its name for fraudulent activities.

The statement partly read, “The suspect, Abdul-Rahman Ibrahim, was apprehended for his involvement in impersonating the Comptroller-General of Customs, Chief of Staff to the President, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Interior.

“According to the National PRO, the suspect has fraudulently lured numerous unsuspecting citizens to pay him money for the issuance of ‘job appointment letters,’ thereby extorting over N1 million from them.

“This arrest underscores the relentless effort of the Nigeria Customs Service in mitigating and combating criminal elements who exploit the service’s name for fraudulent activities.”

Ibrahim was found in possession of counterfeit documents, including fake Customs and NSCDC appointment letters, as well as forged introduction letters seemingly signed by high-ranking government officials.”

The suspect has confessed to his involvement in the fraudulent act and mentioned accomplices in the operation, prompting further investigation to apprehend and prosecute them,” stated Maiwada.

This incident echoes a similar one from June 2023, when Lagos police arrested Rakiya Musa, a suspected fake customs officer, for allegedly defrauding unsuspecting members of the public.

In December 2023, the NCS also warned citizens about fake recruitment ads circulating on social media platforms, reminding them that no official recruitment exercise was underway.