The Enugu State Police Command has arrested three individuals, including a former bank employee, for allegedly stealing N4 million from a customer based in Australia. The suspects are accused of forging the victim’s account details to withdraw the funds.
In a statement on Friday, police spokesperson DSP Daniel Ndukwe identified the suspects as Ndulaka Okwudili, 26; Ifeanyi Nnamani, a former staff member of a commercial bank; and Philip Ozogwu, 44. The trio is accused of fraudulently using forged information to steal the money from the account of Mba Ndukwe, who resides in Australia.
According to Ndukwe, the crime was discovered when the bank management alerted the Central Police Station (CPS) about suspicious activity on the account. Police officers launched an investigation, which led to the arrest of the suspects.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Okwudili, in October 2023, found a bag at Nowas Junction in Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, which contained various personal items, including SIM cards from different mobile networks. In January 2024, Okwudili inserted one of the SIM cards, from Airtel, into his phone and received a large credit alert. This led him and his accomplices to start withdrawing funds from Ndukwe’s bank account using USSD banking codes.
The investigation further uncovered that Okwudili faced difficulties accessing the account in September 2024, prompting him to visit the bank. There, he allegedly conspired with Nnamani, a bank employee with 17 years of service, who informed Okwudili that the account was on “Post No Debit” status. Nnamani reportedly advised Okwudili to obtain a court affidavit and modify his National Identification Number (NIN) details to match those of the legitimate account holder.
Okwudili then contacted Ozogwu, an NIN enrolment agent, who unlawfully changed his personal details to match those of the victim in exchange for N40,000. With the altered details, Okwudili managed to reactivate the victim’s account, bypassing verification checks, including the Bank Verification Number (BVN) link.
Once the account was reactivated, Okwudili withdrew N100,000 and paid Nnamani N50,000 for his role. He later withdrew an additional N1.5 million, which triggered an alert from the bank’s branch in Ohafia, Abia State, where the account was originally opened. This alert led to the detection of the fraud, and the bank management reported the case to the police.
Okwudili was arrested on October 18 when he attempted another withdrawal. Nnamani was arrested alongside him, while Ozogwu was apprehended later. The police have since launched further investigations into the matter.
