Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday at its headquarters in Abuja paraded a woman accused of having unauthorised access to the Aso Rock Presidential Villa using the Office of the First Lady, Aisha Buhari, to swindle unsuspecting Nigerians.
The woman, Amina Mohammed, who according to the DSS, is also known as Justina Oluaha and Amina Villa, was said to have in November last year paraded herself as the First Lady of Kogi State.
She was discovered in this act following a complaint by one of her victims, one Alexander Okafor, also known as Chikason.
Spokesperson of the DSS, Peter Afunanya, during the parade, told journalists that the woman used the false identity to evade protocol and scrutiny and gain access to the Villa, particularly residence of the first lady, due to the respect accorded to personalities such as first ladies, ministers and certain categories of public officers.
“What may even surprise you is that Amina, whose phone number is registered with the name Amina Villa, had on the said date invited one Dr Alexander Chika Okafor (aka Chikason) to the Villa wherein she made him believe the invitation was at the instance of the first lady. Investigation has revealed that the First Lady was away on lesser Hajj and not in the Villa during the period.
“Okafor had complained that he was fleeced of N150million in respect of a Court of Appeal property in Lagos which Amina had promised to help him buy through the First Lady. The property was said to have been part of those under the Presidential Implementation Committee on Lease of Federal Government Properties,” he said.
Afunanya, while stating that Mrs. Buhari is not in the know of the activities of the woman, noted that Amina was only using the name of the first lady and her office as bait to lure and defraud her victims.
He accordingly advised members of the public to be wary of individuals or groups that drop names and offices of high government officials to defraud them.
However, the women denied the allegations insisting she was innocent.
