Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives have arrested a 37-year-old man, Olaitan Shofolahan, for allegedly impersonating Lagos State Land Use Charge officials.
Shofolahan, according to RRS, cited unemployment for his action.
The Accounting graduate of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, was arrested last Thursday in Lekki Phase 1, in Eti–Osa Local Government Area of the state while allegedly attempting to defraud an estate resident of millions of naira in Land Use Charge dues.
The suspect, who was working in his brother’s audit firm in Sabo, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, before leaving in search of greener pasture, told RRS that he could not get a job in Lagos State Civil Service because there were no vacancies.
He was quoted as saying: “I was working with my brother in his audit firm in Sabo, Yaba, earning N45,000 monthly before I left the firm in search of employment. I was at Lagos State Civil Service Commission several times to seek employment. It was during one of my visits that I learnt that payment for Land Use Charge in the state is through a code. The code is engraved on every metal sticker issued to every house.
“It is with this code that you get an annual bill of the house and that you can get your charges printed out with the bills. That was how I started moving round choice locations to get their codes and print their bills.Any house that does not owe, I discard but those with huge bills, I work on them. But I noticed that some of them requested for my identity card. I forged a Lagos State Government identity card using a sample that I saw somewhere in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja.
“I have been in the business since February, 2015. I have observed that owners of buildings in Lekki have capacity to settle their bills quickly, that was why I have focused there. Unfortunately for me, it was in this location that I was caught. I entered the building in Lekki Phase 1 unknown to me that the officials of the Lagos State Land Use Charge were there with the house owner. I saw the owner discussing with them but I didn’t know their identity. The owner of the building after sitting me down invited RRS officials to arrest me.
“Since I have been impersonating, I have only realised N30,000 which I collected from an home owner in Alausa while pretending to be an official of the state. I have not collected any other money apart from that. Each and every time I visited these buildings, they ask me to come back later”.
RRS said it found five land use bills with charges above N1 million and a forged Lagos State Government identity card on the suspect.
Police spokesperson Olarinde Famous Cole, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP), said the suspect, has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba.
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