The Oyo State Police Command has arrested a man, Fakorede Olabisi Johnson, for allegedly forging the letterhead of the Office of the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Governor of Oyo State to get a job as Coordinating Secretary of the state’s Local Government Service Commission.
The suspect, according to The Nation, was arrested on the premises of the commission and taken to the Office of the Head of Service (HoS) when he attempted to secure office accommodation in the place.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Taiwo Adisa, in a statement said Fakorede had approached the commission with a letter purportedly signed by the CPS, who he claimed appointed him as the Acting Coordinating Secretary (Local Government Service).
In the “forged” letter, Fakorede claimed that his appointment was pursuant to Section 42(2 and 3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
On Monday, he allegedly presented the forged letter to the commission and demanded to be allocated an office and an official car.
But workers of the commission reportedly told him to report back yesterday when the office would have been put together.
Checks by the workers at the Office of the HoS and the CPS that confirmed the letter was forged.
Officials then set a dragnet for the impostor, leading to his arrest yesterday.
Fakorede claimed he committed the crime for survival and that he was ignorant of the implications.
When asked how he came about the letter, the suspect said he forged the letter when he heard the name of the CPS on radio.
According to him, he has always longed to get a political appointment.
Fakorede said: “I am a native of Oyo town but I live in Lagos. I listened to the news and heard of the name of the Chief Press Secretary. I like political appointments; that is why I designed the appointment in the form of a political appointment.
“I forged the letter by myself; nobody told me to do it. I was pushed to do it by ignorance.”
The suspect has been handed over to the police for further investigation and trial.
Addressing reporters in Ibadan, the state capital, Adisa advised the residents to be wary of fraudsters who might want to take advantage of the change in government to commit fraud.
