Fake EFCC Aides Nabbed Over $700k Extortion Plot

​ABUJA — The trial of two men who allegedly impersonated aides to the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, took a dramatic twist on Wednesday as an operative detailed the covert operations that led to their arrest.

​The defendants, Ojobo Joshua and Aliyu Hashim, are facing an amended four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, impersonation, and obtaining money by false pretenses to the tune of $700,000.

​Testifying before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja, the Second Prosecution Witness (PW2), Tanko Abubakar, recounted how the duo targeted a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Muhammad Bello Koko.

​According to Abubakar, a veteran investigator with 17 years of experience in the anti-graft agency, the scheme came to light in 2024 following intelligence that the defendants were using the names of top EFCC management to shake down the former NPA boss.

​A Web of Deceit and Extortion

​The witness told the court that Hashim approached Koko, claiming to have close ties to the EFCC chairman’s personal assistant—a role allegedly assumed by the first defendant, Joshua. The impostors claimed that Koko’s tenure at the NPA was under active investigation and demanded an initial payout of $1,000,000 to sweep the probe under the rug.

​Posing under cover to unmask the extortionists, Abubakar infiltrated the circle, meeting with Hashim at a hotel in Area 11, Abuja, before a subsequent rendezvous with Joshua at the legislative quarters in Apo.

​”The first defendant told me and Koko to bring $1,000,000. I pleaded with him that we cannot raise such an amount,” Abubakar testified.

​After a series of failed negotiations where the witness’s counter-offers of $300,000 and $500,000 were rebuffed, Hashim allegedly interceded, helping to beat down the demand to a final settlement of $700,000.

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​Staged Drop-Off and Arduous Arrest

​Armed with intelligence and authorization from the Abuja Zonal Director, a tactical team was assembled. On August 28, 2024, a sting operation was set into motion after Abubakar informed the suspects that the cash was ready.

​An initial attempt to close in on the suspects at a fuel station along Lugbe Road hit a snag when Joshua arrived flanked by three armed mobile police officers in a Hilux truck, while the undercover EFCC operatives were unarmed.

​Undeterred, the team regrouped and reinforced. Following a series of telephone calls and text message exchanges, Abubakar lured Hashim back to Gimbiya Street under the guise of delivering the funds.

​Upon displaying the bag containing the cash, backup operatives swooped in and apprehended Hashim. Under interrogation, Hashim cracked and led operatives to Joshua’s residence. After gaining entry with the cooperation of Joshua’s wife, the prime suspect was smoked out from hiding inside a home store.

​Justice Onwuegbuzie has adjourned the matter to October 22, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.