How A Fraudulent Couple Used Their 3-Year-Old Son To Defraud Suppliers

 

According to reports from Sunday Sun, 46-year-old Abiola Wahab and his wife, Toyin Abiola, were said to have been on the run for a long time until nemesis caught up with them in Obatoko, Ogun State where they were arrested and kept in the custody of the Special Armed Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Ogun State Police Command and undergoing interrogation.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmed Illiyasu, said that the fraudulent couple would visit a distributor, collect goods worth millions of Naira, pay in some money and then disappear and never return to settle the debt. He said the couple had duped victims in Oyo, Lagos, Osun and Ogun states.

 

Speaking at the headquarters of SARS, Toyin disclosed that prior to her getting involved in the fraudulent act alleged against her, she had been engaged in distribution of rice.

”I was into distribution of rice in Ikiru, Osun state. In 2008, somebody duped me of N1 million after I had supplied rice. My clients were pestering me for their money. The case was transferred to State CID Oshogbo and I was arraigned in court.

”The magistrate ordered that I be remanded at Ilesha prison and adjourned the case. I was nine months old pregnant at the time. I delivered my second child in prison. The day that the magistrate granted me bail was also the day I gave birth. I spent only five days in the prison, and that was why I named my baby Aishat Abiola.

‘The court ordered that we pay off the money within one month, but I could not afford to pay. So I jumped bail.”

She further explained,

”Life was so difficult for us, the family of my husband and my own family assisted us and gave us N770,000 naira. We used the money to buy a car in Apapa in 2013. My husband and myself started trading in rice again. We would go to Saki to buy rice and resell. One day, a Customs officer duped us.

”That was also when we began to dupe other people. We have duped a lot of people. We would collect assorted drinks and promise to pay but we would not go back again.

”When we go to visit a prospective victim, I would wear a hijab to disguise myself and seem like a pious Muslim woman. I would pay an amount with a promise to pay the balance after selling the goods. But I never went back.”

See Also

UK Envoy Identifies The Only International Students Eligible To Bring Dependents To The Country 

Also speaking, her husband disclosed that he married Toyin 11 years ago and they had faced difficulties in the course of the marriage. During their alleged fraudulent activities, he said that they often took along their three-year-old son and pretended that he was sick.

“We used our three-year-old son as collateral in the deal and pretend that he was not feeling well,” Wahab said.

On the other hand, the unfortunate victims would because of the ill-health of the toddler show pity on the couple and allow them to go away with goods while temporarily leaving behind the supposedly sick child in the care of the victim, with the promise that they would come back to collect him and pay for the goods. Craftily, the wife would come back to take the child and disappear.

The couple’s got busted when they were perfecting arrangements for another duping expedition. As they were relaxing in the comfort of their home, SARS operatives who had been on their trail swooped on them and their child and arrested them.

Following their confessions during interrogation, the detectives invited some of the victims, who positively identified the duo, who the police commissioner assured would be charged to court soon.

Photo credit: Sun