Illegal job creation: FCTA arrests seven suspected fraudsters

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5 years ago

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Tuesday, arrested seven suspected persons that run illegal employment agencies to defraud job seekers in the nation’s capital.

Director, Outdoor Advertisement and Signage (DOAS), Dr Babagana Adam, who paraded the suspects in Abuja, said they were responsible for driving some business organisation to illegally recruit victims for the purpose of defrauding them with the guise of given them jobs.

According to him: “they print job posters with inscriptions such as Job in Supermarket, Male & Females, Educated & non-Educated, monthly salary of N40, 000, staff bus & Accommodation, asking interested applicants to call displaced certain phone numbers.

“What the cartel does is to paste illegal adverts, stickers on available space along FCT roads, bridges and infrastructures calling applicants to apply for the non-existing jobs only to succeed in accommodating their victims into their fold/gangs to defraud, steal and sometimes or rape innocent residents across the territory.

“I am sure we have seen several of such illegal adverts along the streets of the territory, we have continuously informed the general public through Radio jingles, Television as well as the Newspapers. We, therefore, warned residents to ignore such posters because they are not only illegal but an avenue to defraud job seekers,’’ he urged.

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Dr Adam stressed that applicants should note that only DOAS is constitutionally empowered by the FCT Administration to take care of Signage and Advertisements even as he warned residents against fake advertorials in the territory.

The Director said the cartel were tracked yesterday morning at Zone 6, Primary School opposite FCT Development Control by a combined team of DOAS Officers and Securities.

He said that all the arrested culprits would be handed over to the police for prosecution.

Speaking with newsmen, one of the victims, Obumnaeme other name withheld, said: “I saw an advert posted in one of the walls in Nyanya seeking for a sales representative in a supermarket, I called the number and they asked me to come but on getting there, I called the number again and she sent someone to me, when the last came, she was not talking about the supermarket job again, she was talking about another business which I am not aware of.

“She said I need to pay N15,000, I told her I don’t have the money here but I will send it to her when I get home, she then forwarded her account details to me to send the money when I got home. We were talking when they arrested us,” he explained.

Also, Miss Mary James told newsmen that, she called the displayed numbers in one of the posters and was asked to come forward but was arrested with the group yesterday morning.

Leader of the group, Mr Realistic Amadi, who also spoke to newsmen, denied all the allegations.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE