Police detectives attached to the Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan Lagos, have launched a manhunt for a fake female Customs officer, swindling unsuspecting buyers of auction vehicles for the past 15 years.

The suspect, identified as Rakiya Musa with a Deputy Superintendent of Customs (DSC) as her rank and claimed to work directly with the Controller General of Customs, reportedly swindled many people in Abuja, and when she was being hunted, she escaped to Lagos to meet her Naval officer’s man friend, who allegedly lodged her at a guest house at the Naval dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos.

It was gathered that trouble started after the Naval officer introduced Messrs Dominic and Josiah to her for auction vehicles and she offered to assist them get three units of Toyota Sienna bus 2006 model and a Toyota Highlander 2005 model for the sum of N1.2m each.

The three vehicles, according to her, would cost N3.6 million, but requested that only N2 million be paid to her as installment, while the balance would be paid at the delivery of the vehicles.

It was further gathered that one month later, she called for the balance to be paid to facilitate easy clearance of the vehicles, including driving them down to Lagos, and she collected the money.

However, when it was becoming clear that Rakiyat may have defrauded them, the matter was reported at the Zone 2 Command Headquarters and investigation reportedly commenced.

In the meantime, Rakiyat Musa relocated to Abuja and the police arrested her friend, and detained him while she was being tracked.

A lien was placed on her bank account and one of the days she went to the bank, the suspect was arrested and moved to Lagos.

According to a police source: “At Lagos, the police applied for a remand warrant for one month and it was granted; so she was detained for one month while investigation continued.

“Another suspect, named Cecilia Agu, who reportedly swindled many people of their money in hard currency running into billions of naira, was also in police detention and the remand warrants of both Rakiyat Musa and Cecilia Agu were obtained in one sheet.”

The lawyer to Cecilia Agu was said to have approached Magistrate ML Talli of Igbosere Magistrate’s Court sitting at Sabo, Yaba, and lied that the Police requested for N250 million as bail and that he was ready to part with N20 million.

“It was further learnt that the Investigation Police Officer (IPO), Ibrahim Kareem, then took Rakiyat Musa to the court on June 1, 2023, at the expiration the remand warrant, for arraignment before Magistrate ML Talli, who openly asked for Cecilia Agu and the policeman said she was still in detention, but because she had already known about her case and the fact that both remand warrants were on the same sheet, she angrily discharged Rakiyat Musa and ordered that she be released unconditionally.

“This was at the chagrin of Police officers, who tried to let the Magistrate know that both Rakiyat Musa and Cecilia Agu were of different matters entirely.

“Before the police officer could come down from the staircase, Rakiyat and her lawyer had disappeared into thin air,” the police source alleged.

Sources further hinted further that this drama in the court was reported to the AIG Muhammed Ali of Zone 2, he promptly called the Chief Justice of Lagos State and reported the action of the Magistrate to him.

Speaking to The Guardian, AIG Ali, who was shocked at the action of the Magistrate, said: “I have not seen or heard of such action in all these years of my service. She was told that the police demanded N250 million for bail and she believed it and went ahead to release a hardened criminal, who forged a Customs identity card, wore uniform and defrauded unsuspecting Nigerians unconditionally.

“I called the CJ and he has assured me that he will take the matter up with the Magistrate and that I should furnish him with relevant information about the matter and that we have done. But we, on our own, are not resting on our oars, we have spread our tentacles everywhere including Abuja where she lives and her state, Kogi and I assure you we will soon get her.” ( Text, excluding headline: The Guardian)

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