Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned a suspected impostor, Salifu Olije Mustapha, before a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Kubwa, Abuja, for allegedly parading himself as an officer of the Commission and also impersonating a Nigerian Air Force personnel. Mustapha was arraigned on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, before Justice A.I. Akobi on a four‑count charge bordering on impersonation and misrepresentation. The defendant pleaded guilty to all four counts when they were read to him, prompting the prosecution counsel, R.U. Adaga, to pray the court to convict and sentence him accordingly. Justice Akobi thereafter adjourned the matter to June 1, 2026, for sentencing and ordered that the defendant remain in custody.
According to the charge sheet, the defendant committed the offences in March 2026 within the jurisdiction of the court. Count two of the charge read: “That you, Salifu Olije Mustapha sometime in March 2026, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, while falsely pretending to be a Nigerian Air Force officer did abet the duo of Abubakar (now at large) and Haruna Mamuda (currently undergoing investigation with another law enforcement agency) by conveying them fully dressed in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's operational uniforms as operatives of the Commission in a Toyota Corolla with Registration No. KTU399GT to Sheriff Plaza, Wuse II, Abuja to defraud unsuspecting members of the public and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 84(c) and punishable under Section 132 of the Penal Code Act.” Count three stated that the defendant “impersonated a Public Servant by falsely presenting yourself as officer of the Nigerian Air Force and in that assumed character defrauded unsuspecting members of the public and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 132 of the Penal Code Act.”
Mustapha was arrested by operatives of the EFCC following actionable intelligence linking him with impersonation of EFCC officers. He was specifically spotted in a fake EFCC uniform, alongside two other suspects, harassing motorists and defrauding them in the process. The Toyota Corolla used in the operation was also recovered. The two accomplices mentioned in the charge, Abubakar and Haruna Mamuda, are still at large or under investigation with another law enforcement agency, according to the prosecution. The EFCC has repeatedly warned members of the public against falling victim to impostors who exploit the commission’s name to extort citizens. The case has been adjourned for sentencing, and the defendant faces possible imprisonment under the Penal Code Act.
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