By Matthew Atungwu

Enugu State Police Command has arrested three suspects, including a banker, for allegedly stealing N4 million from a bank customer by forging his account details.

The command’s spokesman, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, made this known while interacting with newsmen on Friday in Enugu, saying that the suspects allegedly forged the bank identity of an Australia-based Nigerian to steal N4 million from his account.

Ndukwe said the suspects, including a staff of an Enugu branch of a commercial bank, withdrew over N4 million from the victim’s bank account through fraudulent means.

According to him, the suspects were arrested when the management of the bank found the fraud and promptly reported it to the police.

He stressed that the first suspect, who was arrested, allegedly confessed that he found a bag in October 2023, at Nowas Junction in Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, which contained personal items, including several SIM cards.

The suspect told the police that in January 2024, he inserted one of the SIM cards into his phone and received a large credit alert.

Ndukwe added that the suspect began to withdraw money from the victim’s account using the USSD banking code, adding that in September 2024, the suspect faced difficulties accessing the account and visited the commercial bank branch in Enugu.

“There, he colluded with an employee of the bank with 17 years of service, who informed him that the account was on Post No Debit Status.

“The bank employee asked the first suspect to obtain a court affidavit and modify his National Identification Number (NIN) details to match those of the account’s legitimate owner to gain access to the account,” he said.

The police image maker said the first suspect approached a NIN enrolment agent, who unlawfully changed the suspect name, date of birth, and other personal details on his NIN to match those of the victim’s details without questioning his intentions.

The police spokesman said the first suspect gave the agent N40,000 for the services.

Ndukwe said that when the first suspect reported for another withdrawal on Oct.18, he was arrested, along with the bank staff while a NIN agent was later arrested.

Reacting, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Kanayo Uzuegbu, appreciated the bank for its cooperation in exposing the fraudulent act.

Uzuegbu also urged the public to exercise caution in managing personal sensitive items to prevent falling victim to similar crimes