The police in Edo State have arrested a 59-year-old retiree, Oshiodi Michael, for allegedly defrauding applicants to the tune of N1.2 million. He was said to have collected the money from 12 persons with the promise of giving them jobs at the University of Benin.

The suspect was paraded by the state police commissioner, DanMallam Muhammed, alongside other suspected criminals arrested for kidnapping, armed robbery, murder, cultism among others in the state.

He added that after the suspect collected the money, he disappeared. The suspect, in an interview with journalists said it was one Christy Okeke, now deceased, who asked him to collect the money from people so that she could give them employment with the university. “I collected N100,000 from 12 persons and gave the money to the woman who promised to give them jobs at the university. She was with the Department of Theatre Art at the university.

He said he collected the money from the people and gave them to the woman, but that she died two months ago and as such could not give them the appointments. The suspect told journalists that he was arrested by the police last week when he went to the university “for some issues”.

“When I went to the university, one of the persons I collected money from saw me and raised an alarm and I was arrested. “I worked at the store and supply department at UBTH before I retired and I have a good record there. If not that the woman who I gave the money died, I wouldn’t have been here,” he said.