The police command in Ogun has arrested a suspect, Adewale Ogoemi Arojah, for impersonating a cleric on Facebook and defrauding people of millions of naira.

According to a statement on Thursday by Oluseyi Babseyi, the command’s spokesman, the suspect hid under the guise of offering spiritual assistance and prayers to the public.

The suspect’s arrest followed a report on Saturday by Muyiwa Akogun, known on Facebook as ‘Prophet Dr Muyiwa Akogun’, who alerted the police that people had complained about fraudulent activities perpetrated in his name through a Facebook profile.

“Through sustained technological monitoring and intelligence-led analysis, the suspect was tracked to a nearby village in Ajegunle, via the Ilaro/Ibogun axis, where he was successfully apprehended. During a rigorous interrogation, the suspect confessed to impersonating the real Prophet Akogun on Facebook,” Mr Babseyi stated.

The police said the suspect admitted to using the cleric’s identity to deliver fake prophecies and offer prayer services to vulnerable individuals and defrauding his victims residing both in Nigeria and abroad, amounting to over N18 million.

Mr Babseyi said the suspect has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran, Abeokuta.