The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a 63-year-old man, Ernesto Chukwukamma, for allegedly impersonating a journalist and extorting money under false pretences in connection with a $4.5 billion Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) investigation.
In a statement released on Tuesday, EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale said Chukwukamma claimed to be affiliated with a group of journalists attached to the anti-graft agency, using that cover to deceive a petitioner.
According to Oyewale, the suspect allegedly told the petitioner that he had access to a damaging report implicating them in the PTF probe and demanded N2 million in exchange for halting the investigation.
“He claimed that members of a supposed correspondents’ chapel with the EFCC owned a report accusing the petitioner of embezzling $4.5 billion during the winding down of the PTF,” Oyewale explained.
The EFCC stated that Chukwukamma went so far as to threaten the petitioner to ensure compliance, presenting himself as someone with influence over the investigation.
He was arrested while attempting to withdraw the N2 million allegedly extorted from the victim.
“The suspect will be charged in court as soon as investigations are concluded,” Oyewale added.
