The Department of State Services (DSS) apprehended a 42-year-old man, Mohammed Prince Momoh for allegedly parading himself as the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari.
DSS spokesman Dr Peter Afunanya said Momoh impersonated the CoS in order to defraud one Benson Agiobu of $50, 000.
Prince Momoh is said to have worked in the Villa between 2013 and 2014.
Momoh attempted to defraud Agiobu, claiming he and his group represented Gambari, and needed the money to help Agiobu land a Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas position.
Afunanya, who paraded the suspect on Tuesday, said Momoh and his group never acted on behalf of or for the Chief of Staff.
Afunanya said the suspect had approached Agiobu telling him he was a security aide attached to Gambari, and claiming that $25,000 would go to the Chief of Staff while the rest would go to the ”boys” who would help secure the appointment.
The DSS spokesman said Momoh had briefly worked as an aide to someone in the Presidential Villa and had some knowledge of the workings of the environment.
Momoh and his team had visited Agiobu in his house in Abuja to collect the money.
Afunanya said Agiobu suspected they were fraudulent and alerted authorities leading to a sting operation that was conducted by the Service, where Momoh was nabbed.
Afunanya said Momoh would face the full weight of the law.
The DSS Spokesman advised that people who use social media should mind the kind of information they drop in their space, as there are always criminal elements harvesting information to use and defraud unsuspecting people.
He called on Nigerians to be cautious and avoid being greedy and desperate so as not to fall victim to fraudsters.
“They should be wary and ask questions when and where they need to to. For every suspicion of crime please relate to appropriate security agencies and pass information timely to them so they needful can be done,” he said.
He said Nigerians should be aware such syndicates exist, adding that the Service would continue to disrupt their activities and continue to do all that is needful within the law to ensure that no law abiding citizen is taken advantage of by criminal elements.
“We reassure Nigerians that the DSS as a responsible, foremost, domestic intelligence agency in Nigeria would continue to perform its duties without any fear or favour,” he said
Momoh, who said he was married with two children, admitted to the crime.
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