Published 20th Oct, 2022

By Adebola Adewara

Ume Ifechukwu Clinton, a 29-year-old fake Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) official, who defrauded Axelle Mahieu, a Belgian woman, of €45,000 has been arrested.

In a statement released on Thursday, EFCC said it arrested Ume on Tuesday in response to an investigation published in September by FIJ on how he defrauded the Belgian.

The arrest was made known in a statement released by the commission on Thursday via its social media handles.

The commission said Ume was arrested for impersonation, computer related fraud, obtaining by false pretence and money laundering.

“Clinton was arrested on October 18, 2022 at No 46 Atoke Gbadebo Street, Isheri, Lagos, by operatives of the EFCC, following a news story published by an online portal: foundation for investigative journalism narrating how Clinton defrauded Axelle Mahieu, an educator working as a caregiver in Brussels, Belgium,” the agency stated.

FIJ had earlier reported how Mahieu, while surfing through her Facebook page in November 2021, came across Ume, who introduced himself as “a friend of a friend”.

As they continued chatting in the following days, Ume told Mahieu that he was an official of the EFCC and subsequently showed her a fake EFCC identity card and a Nigerian passport as proofs.

After several months of video calls and gaining Mathieu’s trust, Ume proposed a cryptocurrency business to her, assuring her of huge profit and secured capital.

Ume ended up defrauding the Belgian of €45,000 after successfully convincing her to invest in the ‘business’ he proposed.

When told about the news of his arrest, Mahieu expressed her gratitude and said she had learnt a life lesson from it.

“I am so glad that they could catch him. I never knew they could. Thank you so much for all your help and efforts, FIJ,” Mahieu said.

“I saw the news on my Facebook group now and I was so glad. Thank you so much. I learnt a life lesson from the experience.”

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