By Gbenge Adebayo
Ibadan
The Oyo state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested five persons for allegedly issuing a fake National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) visa clearance certificate to an unsuspecting member of the public.
Speaking to journalists on the arrest, NDLEA commander in Oyo state, Mrs. Omolade Faboyede, named the arrested persons to include: Olawale Lawal, 35, Yusuf Kazeem, 29, Olusina Adewale, 29, Bolaji Kayode, 28, and Sam Oladiti, 45.
She explained that the suspects were arrested after the victim reported the matter to the command, noting that she became suspicious when she noticed that the name on the document presented to her was different from the name of the current NDLEA chairman.
Faboyede who said that the document was usually requested from Nigerians who intend to travel to countries like India, Bangkok, Columbia and Afghanistan, known for production and distribution of drugs, disclosed that the suspects had formed a chain for the issuance of the fake.
According to her, “Most of the embassies make it mandatory that you pass through the NDLEA before you are cleared and issued visa to such countries.
NDLEA gets details about the person, including those of his/her bank accounts and two guarantors who are not related to him/her. “This information helps in arresting the person in case he or she carries drugs when going out or coming back to Nigeria. Each state command of the NDLEA carries out this process, but the issuance of NDLEA visa clearance is done at our national headquarters.
“If any state command finishes the processing, the file will be forwarded to the headquarters where the information will be vetted. They don’t even give out documents to applicants; they send names to the concerned embassy.”
She said that it is the embassy that would then clear the person for the issuance of visa to travel to such countries, hence it was surprising that people could still fall victim to such fraud.
The NDLEA boss warned members of the public to be wary of such people so that they would not get into trouble through ignorance, just as she advised members of the public to seek assistance from the agency’s commands.
The victim, however, claimed that one of the suspects, Lawal, was a family and when he offered to help her get the document, she agreed and paid him N20,000 out of the N25,000 he demanded.
However, when she received the document and noticed the disparity in name of the NDLEA chairman, suspecting something untoward transpired she reported the matter to the agency.
The agency’s investigation revealed that Kazeem had demanded N15,000 for the job which he gave to Adewale who paid N8,000 to Kayode for the fake certificate.
