Operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have arrested a suspect, Joel Mba Okodi, who has been on the wanted list of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for four years.
The police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt, said the suspect was arrested in the Ajegunle area of Lagos on January 18, 2024.
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The statement reads in part: “Joel Mba Okodi, popularly referred to as ‘Chief’, was resident at No. 21, Abak Road, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, and listed as a Director at Chismo Resources Limited, Ikot-Ekpene.
“He deceitfully collected the sum of 50 million Naira from one Chief Okosisi and was arrested by the EFCC after the case was reported.
“While the fraud case was being investigated, the suspect coaxed another victim, Mr. Ochulor Okeokwu, to stand as surety in the case.
“To secure Okodi’s release, Okeokwu unsuspectingly tendered his house documents worth 50 million Naira as collateral at the EFCC Office in Port Harcourt.
“After that, the suspect refused to turn up for investigations at the EFCC office and was nowhere to be found, evading phone calls. On the few occasions Okodi was reached via phone calls, he violently threatened Okeokwu to desist from calling him.”
He said Okeokwu then proceeded to send a petition to the Inspector General of Police, who approved and forwarded it to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, who immediately sprang into action and mandated men of Operation Sting to ensure that the suspect was arrested in the shortest time possible.
He said the operatives of the command then proceeded to carry out a thorough investigation and diligent finding to ascertain the location of the suspect as somewhere in Ajegunle, Apapa, Lagos, where he had been in hiding all these years, adding that the operatives then submitted relevant policing documents, mobilised, and went into Lagos to carry out the arrest on January 18, 2024, at about 2034hrs at Ajegunle in Lagos.
He noted that the coordinated efforts to carry out the arrest reveal that there is truly no hiding place for criminals, saying the case is currently being handled by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
“The commissioner of police, Olatunji Disu has warned that Rivers State is not a criminal hideout and there is no room for criminals,” he said.