Nigeria busts fake navy recruiters
2013-02-12 17:28
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Nigeria
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Lagos - Nigerian police have arrested three members of a criminal gang accused of fleecing unsuspecting job seekers with a promise to recruit them into the navy, authorities said on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Frank Mba said in a statement that the three suspects, led by a dismissed navy staffer, were arrested last week in a hotel in the central town of Makurdi based on a tip off.
"At the time of their arrest, 11 people already hoodwinked into believing they were on the verge of being recruited into the Nigerian navy were found with them," he said.
He said each applicant was made to pay between €48 and €100. Most Nigerians live on less than €1 a day.
Mba said items including two laptops, three navy uniforms, one navy identity card bearing the name of the gang leader and the sum of €473 collected from the victims were recovered from the gang.
Mba advised job seekers to always authenticate "information relating to job adverts from appropriate authorities in order not to fall prey to unscrupulous fraudsters".
Despite its vast oil wealth, Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation of 160 million people, has an unemployment rate of some 23%, with youth unemployment double that amount. Such fake employment scams occur regularly.
